I Will Be Your Comfort
by myhiddenlove08
Summary: Set following Rachel breaking up with Puck in 'Mash-up' Contains spoilers. The hockey team goes too far. Will the Glee club be able to bond together to help the one person they always looked down to? Eventual Puck/Rachel Puckleberry
1. Prologue

_Rachel Berry stood at her locker. School had ended and she was gathering her things before she headed to Glee practice. She started thinking back to what had happened earlier. But before she got too far, she was slammed into the lockers next to her and her arms were wrenched behind her back. Her eyes widened as she began yelling and screaming, trying to break free from the assailants. Tape was slapped over her mouth and she felt more tape being wrapped around her hands. She kept screaming hoping someone would hear her. She felt herself being dragged away and she frantically looked around trying to find someone to help her. All she saw was lettermen jackets. They were jocks. Her heart sank. Was it… No. They were all hockey players, but that didn't do much to console her. She was being pulled towards the auditorium. She kept fighting and screaming as loud as she could. She wouldn't let herself think the worse. Then she felt rough hands grab at her butt, and the tears started to leak out. But still she fought. Even when they dragged her into the darkened auditorium to the back of the stage she fought. But then…_

"_We're going to have fun with you when he's done."_

"_You ever been with a real man before Berry? You're going to be with more than one today."_

"_You're getting what you got coming to you bitch."_

Rachel Berry shot up in her bed, drenched in a cold sweat, tears rolling out of her eyes, and a scream stuck in the back of her throat. She desperately scrambled for her cell phone, punching in the number as fast as she could. Before his sleepy 'hello' was finished she was speaking.

"I need you. Please," she begged her voice cracking. She could tell he was immediately awake. He promised he'd be there in under 10 minutes and hung up. She pulled her knees to her chest and shook, the tears not stopping. And then he was there, enveloping her in his arms.

"Shhh. It's ok. It'll be ok," he promised. She clutched him desperately, her only lifeline since what had happened a few days ago.

"Please stay," she begged.

"I will," he swore and she could still hear the anger in the back of his voice at what had happened. "Nothing will happen to you Rachel I promise."

"Noah…" was all she said in reply.

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Well its finally here. This idea's been beating my brain around for at least a week until I gave in and started writing it. This is my first Glee fic and I'm quite worried that I'm not going to get a lot of attention. This is the prologue but the next chapter will come soon if I get enough interest. Please if you like this story review. Or even just add it to your alerts. That in itself is enough motivation for me. I really hope you guys like this.


	2. Chapter 1

Ok before the chapter starts WOW!!!!! I never believed I could have this much activity on a story I just submitted! Thank you guys sooooo much!!! So this chapter is also kind of short BUT the good stuff starts next chapter. This is background since I deviated from what the show told us. Thanks so much for watching and reviewing!! Enjoy!!

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**5 days earlier…**

"We weren't friends in the first place."

Rachel felt a small pang in her heart as she watched Noah walk away. She had learned in the short time they had dated that if she said something that tried to dig a little too deep Puck came out and he brushed her aside. She looked down at her hands. He _was_ hurt that she had broken up with him. She looked up at his receding back when a thought hit her. The entire time they talked about Finn and Quinn… he was focused on the baby. She found that odd. She had thought he loved Quinn, but now she wasn't so sure. Multiple possibilities flew through her mind including, since he can't have Quinn he could try and be a part of the baby's life, and since he and Finn are best friends he might be a godfather or something. She stood up with a sigh. No matter what the case was… it looked like she had screwed up. Then her mind firmed and she went to collect her things and drive home. She had a plan to make.

The next day she strode into school, her confident grin on her face. She had figured out exactly how to apologize to Noah. She reached her locker and began preparing all her school materials. Once she was fully prepared for the upcoming school day she would go find Noah and put her plan into action. She smiled once again.

"Rachel!" she heard a voice say. She turned, recognizing the voice.

...

And was met with a slushie. She shook as she opened her eyes to see Noah and another jock standing right next to him. The empty cup was in Noah's hand, and in his eyes she thought she saw regret. Then the other jock began laughing throwing an arm around Noah's shoulders and Noah… no Puck began laughing too. The anger boiled inside her and before she realized it she had slapped Puck. She thought she could hear the whole school gasp as one. It would have been funny if she wasn't so hurt.

"I believed you," she seethed, and she knew she had met the mark when she saw the hurt cut into his eyes. They both flashed back to the bathroom the day before when he had apologized for ever doing this to her.

"I really thought… Was even going to…" she stuttered, the slushie now completely soaking her through. Then she saw the jock next to Puck shake out of his stupor and made a step towards her. She bolted, throwing the well thought out plan of apologizing to Noah in the trash before disappearing into the girl's bathroom.

"Don't worry we'll get her," swore the jock to Puck. He just glared back at the hockey player, who quickly disappeared. The halls began to empty, everyone whispering about what had happened. Puck stood there, just staring at the red puddle of liquid left behind where Rachel had been standing before. He looked around. No one was left in the hallway. He gently closed her locker before heading to the trash can. He looked inside and what could have been a small smile tugged at his lips but it was most likely a trick of the light, when he saw the crumbled up paper with stars on it. He fished it out and looked at it for a moment before stuffing it in his pocket and sauntering off, desperately trying to ignore the sobs coming from the girl's bathroom.

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Thanks again guys!!! I hope you liked it!


	3. Chapter 2

Hey guys I once again want to thank you for all the awesome responses. It's such a great feeling. Well this is the last thing I have completely written and after all the wonderful responses I decided to upload it tonight. I hope you guys love it! ^^

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Puck was heading towards the choir room. He was early but he wanted to jam around on his guitar for a little bit. Try and settle his mind. He still hadn't brought up the courage to read what was on the piece of paper Rachel had thrown away. It was in his bedroom right now, mocking him whenever he looked at it or thought about it. A hockey player stepped in front of him, pulling him from his thoughts.

"What do you want?" growled Puck. The hockey player smirked.

"The hockey team has a present for you."

Puck eyed him warily before following him. He had always pushed around the hockey team even beating them up for no reason so he figured they were probably trying to get on his good side.

_Fuck yes I'm in Glee and still have my badass rep. These guns aren't for nothing._

He was surprised when the hockey player led him to the auditorium. He frowned as they walked in.

"What's that weird noise?" The hockey player just turned and smirked, giving Puck a horrible feeling down to his bones.

"She's a feisty one," he replied making Puck's feeling of dread even worse. The closer they got to the stage the louder the sound came and he realized it was someone screaming but it was muffled. At this point he didn't know why he was still following the hockey player, all of his gut instincts telling him to turn and run. He was led to the back corner of the stage where the light was low and no one could see if they entered the auditorium. Almost the whole hockey team was there surrounding something.

_Someone,_ he corrected himself in horror. The hockey team all smirked and separated and Puck's jaw dropped.

"You didn't," he breathed. The hockey players all laughed.

"She should have known she had it coming."

There on the floor, her hands tied behind her back, her mouth taped shut, and two hockey players holding her legs down, was Rachel. She was screaming non-stop, struggling against the hockey players, her eyes wide in terror and tears leaking out the sides of her eyes.

"She's even like a present. All you have to do is tear off the wrapping paper," sneered on reaching down and grabbing at her shirt. She bucked wildly hearing it tear, her screams intensified. The hockey player laughed and kept grabbing and tearing it.

"Stop!" Puck heard himself order. The hockey team looked at him oddly. He froze for a moment before he heard more words coming out of his mouth.

"Well if it's my present why are you the one opening it?" he leered, still not completely sure what he was doing. The hockey team all smirked, glad he had accepted their present. At his words Rachel had gone still, frozen in fear and shock. Even her screams had stopped momentarily but her eyes went wide, wider even than they had been before and the tears had intensified. Puck felt his heart clench at that. He didn't want to scare her. The hockey team had done that for him, but this was the only way he could save her because there was no way he could take on the entire hockey team, even though they were all pansies and he was Puck. He shrugged out of his jacket letting it fall at her side before kneeling down and holding both of her legs.

"Now let me enjoy my present in peace." He heard the hockey team laugh as they started to move away and leave. He looked back at Rachel. It looked like all the fight had gone out of her. She simply shook her head back and forth muffled 'no's being repeated nonstop. Then he heard her say 'Noah' and his eyes closed, feeling the pain that tore at his heart. He wasn't going to take the chance that he wouldn't be able to take out the whole hockey team. She was shaking like a leaf. He felt his blood boil. He didn't care what she had done to him no one deserved this. After he had heard the last hockey player leave, he sighed.

"Jesus Rachel…" He reached over, grabbed his jacket and laid it over top of her, her shirt in shreds thanks to the hockey team. She stopped shaking her head to look at him. The question was huge in her eyes, and he could even see hope.

"It'll be ok," he promised as he reached for the tape over her mouth. She flinched away and he felt his blood boil again. "I won't hurt you," he said again as he gently pulled the tape off. She looked up at him in shock, no words coming out of her mouth. He stood up before easily lifting her into his arms. That was when she began to sob in relief. If he didn't have her in his arms right now he would have hunted down the entire hockey team and… He shook his head. That would come later.

"So many jackets," she sobbed.

"It's ok now Rachel," he murmured while heading for the back door of the auditorium and taking her to the one place he knew she would be safe. When he entered the choir room he saw Artie there setting up his guitar. Artie's eyes went wide.

"Puck? What's..?"

"Artie I need your help man," said Puck as he set Rachel down by the piano. "She needs your help." He prayed that Artie would help her. He was also extremely thankful Artie was in the room not Santana or even anyone else. Out of the whole Glee club, Artie was probably the most likely to help Rachel. Most of the others wouldn't help. He knew it. They barely stood Rachel as it was… and as horrible as it sounded even seeing her in the condition she was he knew, he _knew_ they wouldn't help. He watched as Artie absorbed the state Rachel was in.

"Are you ok Rachel?" Artie finally asked beginning to roll forward. Rachel flinched away from him desperately trying to move closer to Puck. Artie's eyes widened and he rolled away quickly.

"What…?"

"Not now man. I need help. Do you think you could get Tina to come and help out?" he asked knowing the bond Artie and Tina shared. "Rachel's not going to want any more guys near her."

Artie nodded questions flying through his head, but scared stiff at how Rachel was at the moment. He wheeled out of the choir room as fast as he could. Puck looked back down towards Rachel

"Do you know where we are?" he asked her. She nodded around her tears.

"The choir room."

"You know Artie right? He's your friend," said Puck, bending the truth slightly. Rachel nodded, not fighting his choice of wording.

"But… I can't help…" Puck simply pulled her close to him cradling her head against his chest.

"It's ok. It's ok Rachel," he assured rubbing her back.

"My hands," she said weakly after a while.

"Fuck!" he swore before turning her around and untying her hands. She rubbed at her wrists but Puck couldn't see that, she was still covered by his letterman jacket. He pulled her close again still trying to calm her down. She realized she was still crying. She looked up at him.

"Why?"

She saw his eyes soften slightly. But before he could say anything they heard the door open. Kurt walked in and seeing Rachel crying rolled his eyes.

"What kind of diva fit is she throwing now?... Come to think of it why are you even comforting her if she's throwing a diva fit Puck?"

Puck growled at him angrily, glaring. Rachel whimpered at what Kurt had said and her hands came out from under the jacket to clutch at Puck's shirt, his jacket moving down at the action, parts of her shirt showing. Puck growled again while wrapping his arms protectively around Rachel. Kurt took a step back, shocked at the anger in Puck's eyes. Then when he looked closer at Rachel shaking and crying, he went white finally realizing something was horribly wrong.

"What…?" His eyes landed on her shredded shirt and if possible he went whiter.

"Did you…?"

"If I did do you think she would be clinging to me?!" Puck growled. "Use your head Beyonce! Now are you going to help or not?"

Rachel shuddered knowing Kurt would say no. He had never been nice to her. She buried her head into Puck's chest. He tightened his grip around her and gave a more pointed glare at Kurt.

Kurt hesitated a few more seconds before finally saying, "I'll go get her change of clothes, but I'll need her locker combination."

Puck glared at him, angry enough that he had taken that long to decide to help, but especially angry that he wasn't talking directly to Rachel.

"Rachel. What's your locker combo?"

"It should be open. Th-they ambushed me there," she managed to get out.

"Well what if it managed to close. Can I know the combo?" asked Puck.

"2-20-10."

Kurt simply walked out of the room. Puck growled, extremely angry at Kurt. It doesn't matter what happened in the past. You see a girl like this after what happened, you help. No questions asked.

"Noah?"

He looked down immediately. "What is it Rachel? Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "You… you just never said… Why?" Once again Rachel saw his eyes soften. But once again they were interrupted.

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Any guesses on who it is? haha Hope you loved it! ^^


	4. Chapter 3

Once again I want to thank all of you guys for all the wonderful reviews, the story alerts, and the favorites! It's been overwhelming!! Also none of you guys guessed right who was coming haha Didn't Artie go to find Tina? lol

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Last time:

_"Noah?"_

_He looked down immediately. "What is it Rachel? Is something wrong?"_

_She shook her head. "You… you just never said… Why?" Once again Rachel saw his eyes soften. But once again they were interrupted._

_

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_

"P-puck? Rachel?" came Tina's voice from the doorway.

"Tina?" said Rachel confused. Tina walked closer, with a small smile on her face.

"H-hey Rachel. Artie d-doesn't want to l-leave. C-can he st-stay?"

Rachel bit her lip and looked up at Puck.

"It's up to you," he said softly.

"…I don't want to be rude… but could he stay on the other side of the room?"

Tina gave her another smile and went to the door. Artie rolled into the room, making sure he was quite far away from Rachel.

"How are you doing Rachel?" he asked concerned. She just shook her head whimpering slightly.

"Not much better man," said Puck, his voice even more concerned that Artie's. Tina came back over and sat close to Puck and Rachel but not close enough to freak her out, just in case.

"W-what happened R-rachel?" she asked softly. Once again Rachel shook her head before turning to Puck and starting to cry into his chest again. Tina bit her lip immediately concerned she said the wrong thing. That kept Puck from yelling, though he was still extremely angry. He felt himself hugging Rachel tighter to him.

"The hockey team," muttered Puck, feeling he owed it to Artie and Tina for putting the past behind them (yeah he knew about the 'Tonight' fiasco) and trying to help Rachel. "Thought they'd give me a present." Inside he was fuming. Rachel, his Rachel (fuck when did that happen?), who was strong enough to break up with _him_ was now sobbing into his chest unable to even say what had happened. He felt his heart go cold for a second.

"Rachel… They… They didn't do anything to you did they?"

"Th-they grabbed my b-butt a few times but… were going to wait until you were done," she said before she began sobbing again. Puck heard himself growl while getting angrier at the same time. He saw Tina's eyes widen and he heard Artie slam his hand against his wheelchair (at least that's what it sounded like). Kurt walked into the room again, holding Rachel's change of clothes as loosely as he could.

"These clothes are disgusting," he said dropping them next to her. Puck growled.

"Really think this is the time Beyonce?" Kurt was about to reply but Puck was surprised to see Tina pull him aside before whispering angrily at him. Artie rolled over and got involved. He was clearly upset as well. Tina appeared back next to Rachel but Artie was still laying into Kurt.

"Are you ready to change Rachel?" she asked. Rachel nodded. Puck looked at Tina oddly. She hadn't stuttered. She blushed.

"P-puck will you t-turn around?" she asked nervously. Puck hesitated not wanting to take his eyes off of Rachel but realized if he wanted her to keep trusting him, he would have to keep her believing he wasn't doing this for any perverse reasons. Which he wasn't!!! But he didn't want that thought to even cross her mind. So he let her go and turned around. Rachel didn't move for a moment.

"R-rachel? D-do you need h-help?" asked Tina. Rachel jumped slightly.

"Umm no," she finally said before slowly removing Puck's jacket, keeping her eyes scanning the room. After the jacket was gone, she changed as quickly as she could. Then cursing her weakness she reached out and took Puck's hand. She kept her head down when he turned around.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I know-"

"No," he interrupted her. "You don't say that to anyone today." She moved closer to him allowing his arms to wrap around her. She shuddered as she felt the tears threaten again.

"Shhh," he found himself saying. He rubbed circles on her back. Tina looked at her sympathetically.

"I'm s-sorry Rachel…" she offered. Rachel looked towards her.

"Why?" she asked. Puck almost smirked. She had been asking that a lot lately.

"W-what because of 'T-tonight'? R-rachel, it may h-have hurt me, b-but that's no r-reason for me n-not to help you. E-especially when it's… t-this."

Rachel's eyes began to water again, gratitude painted on her face. Tina didn't miss the same look on Puck's face either. They heard a noise and saw Kurt standing there, his face full of guilt.

"I'm sorry Rachel," he said softly. "I didn't know…"

Puck growled. "That's-"

"No excuse I know," said Kurt looking away. "I thought she was overreacting about a slushie or something…"

"Overreacting?!?!" growled Puck. "When you saw her shirt?! I should-"

"Noah…" came Rachel's small voice. Puck's face softened immediately and he looked down.

"I'm just grateful he's even apologizing…" she continued. Puck saw Kurt wince and he felt a sense of satisfaction at that.

"I know it's probably not the best time…" said Kurt. "But… seeing you so… vulnerable makes me realize… you're just a normal high schooler like us."

Puck heard himself growling again. This kid just didn't know when to quit.

"I mean you do dress fairly badly and you freak out when you don't get what you want and your crazy is just…"

Puck could feel Rachel beginning to tremble.

"Point Beyonce. Point," he snapped.

"That's who you are," said Kurt, blushing slightly that he had gotten out of hand. "I shouldn't hold that against you. Besides us divas need to stick together," he finished smiling slightly.

"Thank you Kurt," came Rachel's small voice after a fairly long pause. Kurt sighed in relief. He began to sit down but changed his mind and pulled a chair over to sit in. Puck raised an eyebrow.

"These are brand new pants and that floor is dirty," protested Kurt. An ecstatic grin broke out on Puck's face when he heard Rachel chuckle slightly. It was only like one little laugh but still!!!

"So how are you feeling Rachel?" Puck asked.

"Better," she responded smiling slightly at him. "But I don't think it takes much to be better from where I was…"

"W-well you have a-all of us t-to help," promised Tina.

"Mercedes too once she finds out," promised Kurt. "Oh I'll go get her now." He whipped out his cell phone and walked out the door. About a minute of silence passed when they heard some voices from the hallway. All of them looked up and saw Matt and Mike walk in the room. Rachel shrieked and grabbed at Puck desperately, shaking terribly again.

"Rachel! What's wrong?" asked Puck frantically holding her tight.

"The jackets! All the jackets!" he and Tina heard her say into his chest. His eyes widened as he realized.

"Take off your jackets!" he hollered. They looked at him and Rachel oddly.

"I'm confused…" said Mike.

"W-what's to understand?! Take your fucking jackets off!!" demanded Tina. Artie turned to her in shock and Puck looked at her in a newfound respect. Luckily Tina cursing had the kind of motivation needed to get Matt and Mike pulling their letterman jackets as fast as they could.

"O-outside," she demanded and they threw the jackets out the door. They looked to Puck. He looked down at Rachel, who was still freaking out.

"Rachel. The jackets are gone. I promise." She shook her head.

"No no no no no," she kept repeating.

"Rachel, you trust me right?" said Puck softly into her ear. She paused nodding.

"Then trust me now. The jackets are gone. Will you trust me?" She hesitated before nodding again.

"Then look up." The pause was so long he almost thought she wasn't going to look up. Then she slowly began moving, looking first at Tina, who smiled at her supportingly. She moved to Artie who also smiled but was clearly still staring at Tina. Then she moved to the doorway.

"Matt?.... Mike?" she said hesitantly. They both nodded clearly confused.

"What's… going on?" asked Matt. Artie motioned them over and began whispering. It wasn't long before exclamations of anger were heard. Rachel looked up at Puck.

"Was… was it Matt and Mike in the jackets?" He simply nodded. Her lip quivered and a few tears spilled over.

"No. Don't cry," he said desperately wiping the tears away. "Don't you dare blame yourself. I guarantee you Matt and Mike won't blame you."

Puck whipped his head around as he heard them heading towards the door and he growled angrily. They both looked towards him and immediately recognized what he was trying to say.

_Go after them without me and die._

Mike looked towards Rachel. "We're sorry Rachel. We didn't know."

"It's ok… I'm sorry." A chorus of 'no's were heard at her words.

"I told you, you don't say that to anyone today," said Puck.

"Not even us," said Mike.

"We understand," said Matt. Rachel once again felt tears of gratefulness begin to fill her eyes.

"No one deserves to be treated like that," said Matt before Rachel could ask why.

"You _don't_ treat girls like that," said Mike rather venomously. Then they moved back over towards Artie. It was clear, at least to Puck, they were talking about revenge, but at least he was confident they wouldn't leave him out of it.

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I know its another awkward cut off but I really can't think of proper wrapups because this whole thing is going on at the same time but its waaaaaay too long to put in one chapter. Anyway I hope you liked the chapter ^^

Oh I'm going to be delving into Matt and Mike's character next chapter. Since their character's really haven't been developed that much by the show I'm taking a few liberties but I hope you guys will understand

**They're putting Puck and Rachel back together next season of Glee!!!!!! Check it out!** www. ausiellofiles. ew. com/2010/01/18/exclusive-glee-spoilers-rachel-puck/#comment-159935 (just take out the spaces)


	5. Chapter 4

So once again I want to thank you guys for all the crazy support I'm getting. Over 100 people get emails when this is updated and its blowing my mind. I really hope you liked Matt and Mike and how I felt their characters were like last chapter. ^^ However things aren't going to be as smooth for Rachel from here on in so I hope you like it ^^

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Last time:

_Mike looked towards Rachel. "We're sorry Rachel. We didn't know."_

_"It's ok… I'm sorry." A chorus of 'no's were heard at her words._

_"I told you, you don't say that to anyone today," said Puck._

_"Not even us," said Mike._

_"We understand," said Matt. Rachel once again felt tears of gratefulness begin to fill her eyes._

_"No one deserves to be treated like that," said Matt before Rachel could ask why._

_"You don't treat girls like that," said Mike rather venomously. Then they moved back over towards Artie. It was clear, at least to Puck, they were talking about revenge, but at least he was confident they wouldn't leave him out of it._

_

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_

Puck felt Rachel tug at his shirt.

"Why are they so mad?"

"Cause they're pussies," he said with a small laugh. Rachel just looked at him confused.

"Have you ever heard of either of them slushying someone or throwing someone in the dumpster?"

Rachel shook her head.

"That's why they football team calls them pussies."

"That's wrong."

"Rachel… if you haven't noticed the football team always is doing something wrong." She gave him a small sad smile in response.

"Besides, Matt and Mike…" He shrugged. "I don't know."

"They're who you are when you aren't in school and aren't worrying about your reputation," she said softly. Normally he would have smirked and made a crack about them not getting as much action as he does but he just smiled and nodded his head.

"That's why they picked Glee over football…" she continued. "Because in Glee they felt like they belonged?"

"Yes," came Mike and Matt's voices.

"Well at least that was the main reason," continued Matt.

"Besides you can't dance in football unless Kurt's involved somehow," laughed Mike.

"We won the game didn't we?" said Kurt walking back into the room, pouting. Mike and Matt laughed.

"He wasn't taking a crack at you Kurt," said Matt. Mercedes meanwhile had stormed into the room over to Rachel.

"Who did it? Do you want me to cut them girl?" she demanded. Rachel looked up in shock and Puck even looked mildly interested.

"But… Mercedes I thought…" began Rachel.

"We're both divas in the same group of course we're going to argue. But when shit goes down I'll always have your back… as long as I get to sing the soul songs cause girl that is my area."

Puck felt another enthusiastic smile light up his face when he heard Rachel give a little chuckle.

"Thanks Mercedes."

"I told you we divas stick together," said Kurt with a smile.

"Now who did it?" said Mercedes.

"Hockey team," said Puck, the acid clearly heard in his voice. Mercedes huffed, crossing her arms.

"What happened exactly?" she asked after a while. Rachel shook her head pressing her face into Puck's chest.

"Rachel this isn't something you can bottle up and try to be stronger than," said Puck bending himself so he could talk close to her ear. "You're going to have to say what happened eventually." Rachel just shook her head again. Puck sighed and was about to tell Mercedes when he went white.

"White boy, why you so… white?" asked Mercedes.

"I convinced them to leave… but they're going to come back and we aren't going to be there…" said Puck, possibilities running through his head. He was shocked at how scared… ummm worried about Rachel he was. He looked over at Mike, Matt, and Artie who were still talking not aware of what had happened. No not even with them was he taking the chance.

"Oh dear Gucci," said Kurt. "We need to get Rachel out of here now."

The group of boys looked up. "What happened?" asked Artie.

"The hockey team's going to be back soon expecting their turn with Rachel," said Tina. Puck once again noticed she hadn't stuttered but it didn't matter at the moment.

"Where? When?" demanded Matt.

"Soon. Auditorium but they'll come here next. They aren't that stupid," said Puck fast. He felt Rachel starting to tremble in his arms.

"Shhhh. They aren't going to hurt you. I promise," he said rubbing her back. Rachel could only whimper in response, feeling the tears starting to return.

"If they don't find me today what about tomorrow?" she whispered.

"Never," Puck swore violently.

"We have to get her home now," said Mercedes. Rachel looked up.

"But what about practice?" she asked around her tears. Everyone in the room sighed in relief and slight humor. Even while fighting back tears she was still concerned about practice.

"Mr. Schue will understand," promised Puck. Rachel hesitated before nodding. Then she hugged Puck to her, beginning to cry again. Unfortunately that was when Finn decided to walk in the room.

"Rachel?" he asked, a confused look on his face. "What's going on?" Rachel looked up and shrieked, trying to move away from Finn. Everyone looked over realizing belatedly that he was wearing his letterman jacket.

"Dude what the hell are you doing to her?" yelled Finn charging at Puck who stood up quickly shielding Rachel with his body. She was clutching at the back of his shirt, screaming.

"I'm not doing anything! It's your fault! Take off your damn jacket!!" yelled back Puck, pissed that Finn would even think he would do anything to her.

"What the hell are you talking about? She's freaking out!! Rachel what's going on?" Finn yelled back reaching for her. She shrieked again trying to hide behind Puck. Puck growled and finally just punched Finn in the face. The others in the room finally started to move and Mike and Matt pulled Finn into the hallway. Puck turned around and pulled Rachel into his arms.

"It's ok. It's ok. Shhh. It's ok," he muttered.

"You punched him," said Kurt surprised.

"He. Wasn't. Listening," bit off Puck.

"W-why would Finn e-even think P-puck was h-hurting Rachel?" questioned Tina. Puck felt himself tense and he hugged Rachel even closer to him. He knew one reason but Finn didn't know about that so the only other explanation was his best friend really thought that bad of him.

"Yeah. That was out of line," said Artie. Everyone but Puck and Rachel turned when they heard the choir room door open. Mike and Matt strolled in moving back over towards Artie and the others. Finn, minus the jacket, shuffled into the room, his face slightly green, looking at the floor.

"Puck man I…"

"Don't worry about it," grumbled Puck.

"Rachel are you ok?" he asked moving closer to her. Rachel flinched away clutching at Puck even more. Puck glared at him.

"No," Puck replied simply. She was sobbing into his shirt, she was very obviously not ok and it was Saint Finn's fault. "She doesn't want guys around her."

"But you're a guy," replied Finn angry. "And besides she doesn't even like you. I know what happened yesterday!"

"I rescued her!!!" yelled Puck. "And you don't know ANYTHING about what happened yesterday!"

Before Finn could say anything else Kurt simply grabbed his arm and pulled him aside before he did anything else that would make Puck angrier than he already was. Everyone in the room could tell that he was teetering dangerously on the edge of snapping. He was already hovering around there beforehand but after Finn… They heard Rachel slowly start to calm down. It crossed a few of their minds how easily Puck was able to calm her down. Well of course he rescued her but it seemed like it was more than that.

Finn moved closer but obviously was keeping his distance from Rachel this time. Rachel noticed and shivered once.

"I'm sorry Finn."

"I told you Rachel. You don't say that to anyone today," said Puck before Finn could say anything. "Finn understands that," he finished very pointedly.

"Uh yeah Rachel. I understand…" replied Finn though questions were still huge in his eyes. Kurt sighed and started talking to Finn again.

Puck turned back around towards Rachel, his body blocking Finn from her view. _He's such a dumbass._ He leaned down and began talking into her ear that none of them could hear what was being said.

"Rachel it's going to be ok I swear, but you really need to tell your friends what exactly happened. I think that's part of the reason you get so upset when you see the jackets… other than what happened I mean."

"I can't Noah," she replied her voice wavering.

"Please?" he asked softly. "Trust me that it will help. Please Rach." There was a gigantic pause before he felt her nod against his chest.

"I'll try…" Puck smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, before realizing exactly what he was doing. He looked up to see Tina and Artie looking at him with shocked expressions. He ignored it before raising his voice slightly.

"Hey guys. Rachel wants to try and talk about what happened. To try and make her feel better."

Everyone looked over nodding. They all gathered around Puck and Rachel though loosely, the boys keeping their distance. Rachel looked up at them. She paused and before she could begin speaking, the three Cheerios walked into the room.

* * *

Before the flames start please just read this. I don't have anything against Finn. (other than all the times he uses Rachel and goes back to Quinn but that's not part of this story so... yeah) I just think he's not the brightest bulb in the classroom. And how I see the characters and what the show has shown me I find this to be a very real possibility of what would happen when Finn walked in.

And the Cheerios. You knew they had to come into play at some point. Also a little more insight to the slushy incident happens next chapter and you'll never guess who from haha. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter ^^ Thanks for all the reviews guys!! See you next time


	6. Chapter 5

Here's the next chapter. You know the more and more I rewatch episodes of Glee the more I realize I really really like Mike. Yeah of course there's Rachel and Puck is HOT but Mike's up there too. I'm even thinking about writing a fic focused on him but I don't know how popular it would be. Well anyway here's the next chapter

* * *

Last time:

_"Hey guys. Rachel wants to try and talk about what happened. To try and make her feel better."_

_Everyone looked over nodding. They all gathered around Puck and Rachel though loosely, the boys keeping their distance. Rachel looked up at them. She paused and before she could begin speaking, the three Cheerios walked into the room._

_

* * *

_

"What's going on here?" demanded Santana giving Rachel a dirty look.

"Drop it," snarled Puck which did nothing to ease Santana's evil look. Matt rolled his eyes before grabbing Santana and pulling her towards the group. Brittany looked confused but followed Santana towards the group. Quinn, while still not happy that Rachel had once gone after Finn (and in her mind was still planning ways to get him to herself), could tell something was wrong so she simply walked over to Finn but grabbed his arm and wrapped it around her waist pointedly. Puck rolled his eyes. As if Rachel was worrying about that now (or ever again if he had anything to do about it).

…_Where the hell are those thoughts coming from?_

"I know you all want to know what happened to me," started Rachel in a very small voice. "I don't really want to talk about it but Noah's convinced me that this isn't one of those things I should bottle up inside…" She could feel him practically vibrating in anger behind her. She assumed he was also thinking about what had happened. She was still confused as to why he helped her in the first place. She looked up to see the sympathetic eyes from (almost) everyone and could see the anger lurking in a few.

"I think all of you know that I slapped Noah the other day after he slushied me." A few nodded. Even Santana was starting to realize something was wrong simply by how fragile Rachel looked, clutching Puck like he was her only support (which pissed her off even if there was a reasonable (sort of) excuse for it).

"The… The hockey team decided to try and get on Puck's good side," she continued and she felt herself shaking.

"I can't stop shaking…" she said her voice cracking.

"It's not your fault," said Puck comfortingly. "It's ok." She looked up at him with a small smile before nodding.

"They jumped me at my locker after everyone had left," she continued her voice starting to shake. "They t-tied my hands behind my back and taped my mouth closed." She paused trying to make herself calm down but it didn't seem to be working.

"They took me to the auditorium… onto the stage… in one of the back corners and had two of the guys hold me down while someone went to find Puck." Her voice cracked again.

"They… they um… they told me what they were going to do to me when Puck was done with me."

She could see the fire of anger in all of the boy's eyes, as well as Mercedes'. She could feel Puck growling in anger beside her.

"Then when Noah showed up one of them… said…"

"He said it was just like a present and tore her shirt off," spat Puck. Rachel slipped her hand into his and she felt him squeeze hers almost painfully but she didn't mind it gave her the strength she needed.

"Noah said a few things to get them to leave… then took me here… but I'm still confused…"

Puck frowned. "About what?"

"Why aren't you upset I slapped you after you slushied me?"

"He didn't slushy you," came a voice and everyone turned stunned to Quinn who had spoken.

"What? The hockey team slushied me earlier this week. Anything more to get them in trouble is fine by me. Puck tried to stop the hockey guy from slushieing Rachel but when he grabbed the cup it spilled onto her anyway," she said shrugging. Finn looked at Quinn oddly. He knew as well as she did the football team slushied them earlier that week so he would pick football over Glee. He leaned down.

"Quinn…" he whispered. She just elbowed him in the stomach. Rachel slowly looked up at Puck, in shock.

"You didn't…?" He shook his head.

"No."

"Then… why didn't you?..."

He shifted his weight from foot to foot clearly uncomfortable.

"You ran away… and…" he started awkwardly before his voice firmed. "Would you have believed me?"

Rachel paused. "No… I wouldn't have…" Then she shuddered.

"What?" asked Puck worried he had said something wrong.

"It's just… I had blocked out what most of them were saying to me when it was happening but now I just keep hearing them…" Puck growled again.

Everyone's heads snapped up when they heard a commotion coming from the direction of the auditorium. The Cheerios simply looked confused but everyone else turned wide eyes back to Rachel who had gone extremely pale and was visibly trying to shrink inside herself.

"Outside now," snapped Mercedes to Mike and Matt. "Keep watch."

Puck looked down at Rachel. "Are your dads home?" She didn't react so he shook her slightly.

"Rachel," he repeated. She looked up at him. "Are your dads at home?"

"No. Out of town," she whispered.

"Doesn't matter. We need to take her somewhere," said Kurt. Puck swung Rachel up into his arms.

"Now," he said moving towards the door.

"I'm not going anywhere," came a voice. They all turned to see Santana standing there, the dirty look back on her face.

"I don't know what's going on, and to be frank I don't care what happened to Man Hands. I'm not getting involved."

"Fine," snapped Puck. "You can stay here. And so can anyone else who doesn't want to help," he said leveling his gaze towards Brittany and Quinn. Quinn visibly hesitated. Brittany just looked confused.

"Brittany and I will stay to tell Mr. Schue and throw the hockey team off the scent," said Quinn finally. Finn kissed her quickly with a big smile.

"Thanks Quinn."

Puck growled. Was he that big of an idiot to see that she contemplated not helping at all? (Contemplated? Where did that shit come from?) He looked down at Rachel in his arms. (Oh yeah).

"How's this going to work?" asked Puck as they all moved out of the choir room.

"I'm taking Mercedes, Tina, and Artie in my car," piped up Kurt.

"And I can take Mike and Matt," said Finn.

"Ok. We're all going to Rachel's house," said Puck. By this time they had made it out the front doors of the building.

"We should call the police," said Artie and Puck wondered why they hadn't thought of that before.

"When we get to her house. I'm not risking staying here with the douches on the prowl," replied Puck carefully placing Rachel in his truck. He ran around the other side and hopped in. He pulled Rachel closer to him and started the truck.

"Rachel are you ok?" he asked her as he backed out of the parking lot. He looked in the rear view mirror. With the help of Finn, Mike, and Matt they almost had Artie situated in Kurt's car. He waited until they all had gotten into the cars ready to follow him. He wasn't sure if any of them had ever been to Rachel's house. By the time everyone was ready and they were pulling out on the main road, Puck realized Rachel hadn't replied to his question. He shook her slightly.

"Rachel. Are you ok?" he repeated sneaking glances towards her as often as he could. She still wasn't responding. She didn't even look towards him. He stepped on the gas slightly.

"Rachel," he repeated with a stronger voice. But by the time they had reached her house she still hadn't said anything or acknowledged he was talking to her. He pulled into her driveway and shoved his truck into park before jumping out the door and flying around the truck.

"Where's the fire man?" he heard Finn ask.

"She's not talking to me," he replied and everyone heard the worry in his voice. He tore open the door and gently pulled Rachel towards him.

"Rachel," he repeated. When she didn't respond he shook her.

"Rachel." Again no response. He shook her harder, almost as if he was slightly angry with her but when he spoke all anyone could hear was desperation and fear.

"Rachel!!"

* * *

...DON'T HURT ME!! I had a long huge argument with myself about where to cut the chapter off and I decided here would create the most drama. Anyway what about the Quinn twist? It actually wasn't even going to be a twist I did think it was the hockey team that slushied her and Finn but I rewatched the episode last night (yeaaaaaah DVD's) and realized that the hockey player slushied Finn earlier then it was the football team who slushied both of them.


	7. Chapter 6

So not going to lie this chapter was hell to write. I hope it came out ok. I think it did but you guys are the real judge haha. It's a more quiet chapter than the last couple but I started to weave an undercurrent that's going to come to a head at some point. To something quite a bit larger than what the show put in. I'm considering continuing this fic with the way the show would continue with the changes I obviously made to the story line. For example. Why Tina told Artie the truth other than she wanted him to know and how they seemed to be ok again when they performed Proud Mary. Anyway here's the chapter! Enjoy!!

* * *

Last time:

_"She's not talking to me," he replied and everyone heard the worry in his voice. He tore open the door and gently pulled Rachel towards him._

_"Rachel," he repeated. When she didn't respond he shook her._

_"Rachel." Again no response. He shook her harder, almost as if he was slightly angry with her but when he spoke all anyone could hear was desperation and fear._

_"Rachel!!"_

_

* * *

  
_

Finally Rachel moved, her eyes finally meeting his.

"Noah…" she whispered. And the next thing she knew, she was being crushed in a hug from him.

"You scared me so bad," he whispered but everyone could hear it. Quite a few raised eyebrows could be seen. Mr. Badass had been scared? Rachel's arms slowly snaked around him.

"I'm sorry…" And Puck didn't bother to correct her. He was too caught up in the fact that she was back. She was back. Her crying and freaking out was bad enough but when she wouldn't talk to him… He gently pulled her out of the truck still holding her in the embrace.

And even Finn couldn't be angry when he saw Rachel in Puck's arms like that. Puck really did care about her. And he realized that should have been apparent to him from the beginning but he was too focused on Rachel. Mike and Matt turned away to help Artie out of Kurt's car. Only after they had Artie out of the car did Rachel and Puck separate.

"Do you have your keys?" he asked softly. She shook her head.

"The spare's under the welcome mat."

Puck rolled his eyes. "You really need to come up with a more original place to hide that." He took her hand before leading her to the house. He quickly unlocked the door with the spare and took her into the living room. He sat her down on the couch and looked at her carefully making sure she was still there.

"What happened Rach?" he asked aware that the others had come in as well.

"I don't know," she said softly. "I was wishing it had never happened and I just stopped thinking… But I didn't hurt anymore," she continued just as softly but she also sounded like she wasn't all there.

"I-I think sh-she's in shock," offered Tina. Puck squeezed Rachel's hand slightly.

"Can you try not to do that again?" he asked. "It really freaked me out." She just nodded vaguely.

"Can we call the cops now?" asked Artie.

"NO!!" shrieked Rachel and Puck looked around checking to make sure that there were no letterman jackets in the room. He looked back at Rachel.

"Rachel why-"

"No," she repeated shaking her head.

"Ok Rachel," he said trying to calm her down. "We won't call the police." The room fell silent. Suddenly Rachel spoke up again.

"I want a shower," she said almost frantically rubbing her arms.

"Then go take a shower Rachel. We'll be down here ok?" said Puck after a moment. She nodded before dashing up the stairs.

"Is it wise to leave her alone?" asked Kurt.

"I'll go up and check on her in a while after I'm sure she'll be in the shower," replied Puck before sighing and running a hand through his Mohawk.

"Are we really not calling the police?" wondered Artie.

"At least not today," replied Puck immediately. "She's had enough stress today and it won't make much of a difference if we call them today or tomorrow." Everyone nodded accepting that.

"Puck," said Finn. "I'm really sorry for accusing you of hurting Rachel. I didn't realize you guys were still friends."

"It's ok man," replied Puck, though he was still pissed about it. And it was very clear that Finn still didn't realize just how much he did care for Rachel. Silence fell again.

"D-do you guys h-have a plan for t-tomorrow?" asked Tina. Puck cracked his knuckles.

"One by one whenever we can?" he suggested with an evil smirk on his face.

"I-I mean a-about Rachel. W-we aren't l-leaving her alone r-right?"

"Hell no!" snapped Puck.

"I think it really depends on how she feels around the guys tomorrow," said Kurt. "If she still doesn't feel comfortable, they trail discretely. If she's ok with the few of us here, they're right there with her." Everyone seemed to agree with that.

"Girls at all times though right?" asked Mike.

"Oh of course," replied Kurt. Mercedes sighed.

"I can't believe anyone would stoop to this level. And all just to get on Mohawk's good side." Puck felt like he wanted to throw up when he heard that. It was his fault.

"It's not your fault," said Matt, seeing the look on Puck's face.

"I should have told them to back off. That kid…" He felt his fists clench. "It was him. He thought of all of it."

"What?" came a voice he didn't even notice who.

"The kid who tried to slushy Rachel, said after she slapped me that they would get her. I thought it meant just another slushy… I should have beat the shit out of the fucker right then." He felt the anger that had flared up when he realized who exactly was behind it fade away again, as he realized he had once again fucked up… and he wasn't the one paying for it this time…

"Gonna go check on Rachel," he muttered. At the top of the stairs he stopped for a moment. His brain wouldn't stop yelling at him. It was his fault. And there was no way he could argue with himself.

"Puck," said a voice. He turned to see Tina standing next to him. "You think that it's your fault, but you're trying to put on a tough face for all of us and Rachel. By tomorrow she's going to see right through you. It is not your fault. It is the hockey team and that kid who planned it all out who are at fault. Rachel doesn't need to be worried about you when she has too many other things to work out herself. You need to accept you aren't at fault and never let her see you doubt that."

Puck nodded, the strangely accurate words helping soothe his brain. He turned and walked towards Rachel's room, motioning to Tina to follow him.

"At some point we're going to talk about your stutter," he said as they approached the bathroom door. He chuckled as he heard Tina let out a little squeak.

"Fuck…" she muttered. He knocked on the door.

"Rachel," he called. "It's me and Tina just want to make sure you're ok." He could hear the water running inside but no answer.

"Rachel?" he repeated raising his voice and banging on the door again. He turned to Tina after another no response. There was no way she wouldn't have heard him. The lack of singing also freaked him out. Didn't she always sing in the shower? Well he had never been around when she was in the shower but she just seemed like the kind of girl who would.

"Go in and check on her," he demanded. Tina raised an eyebrow. He looked away nervously.

"I don't want her to think…" he muttered. Tina just smiled and slipped into the bathroom. Before long he heard her voice.

"Puck go get Mercedes. She's all spaced out again. I'm going to need help to get her out of here and into pajamas or a robe or something." Puck swore before stomping back down the stairs.

"Mercedes. Tina needs your help. Rachel's all wacked out again." Mercedes nodded and rushed up the stairs. Puck sat down on the stairs ready to run up as soon as Rachel was decent.

"Dude you need to calm down," said Matt gently.

"At this rate you'll have a heart attack within the week," said Kurt. Puck simply growled letting his head hang.

"Rachel needs you," said Mike. "You can't let your stress make her any worse than she is." Everyone saw how those words affected him. He sagged slightly before taking some deep breaths.

"Yeah I got it," he muttered. Finn had stayed quiet other than his apology. He found himself slightly angry that Rachel would only let Puck close to her. He would protect her way more than Puck would. He felt weird. Like the way he had when he saw Puck singing 'Sweet Caroline' to her. It must be because Rachel deserves better than him. By the time he had concluded this, Puck felt vibrations on the stairs. Mercedes and Tina were leading Rachel down the stairs. She was wearing a long robe.

"She has on pjs under it," said Mercedes quickly seeing Puck's eyes flick from the robe to the boys (Finn) and back. At the bottom of the stairs Puck pulled Rachel closer to him.

"Rach, you need to come back," he said softly.

"Why don't we just let her rest like that?" asked Artie.

"What if she doesn't come back?" snapped Puck with a glare and Artie held up his hands in defeat. He didn't blame Puck at all for snapping at him. He just was curious as to why they wouldn't let her rest. And to be honest Puck had a point.

"I know it doesn't hurt where you are," said Puck. "But seeing you like this scares me," he admitted. Let them make fun of him. He'd destroy them. What he didn't know is that everyone else agreed with him about that. Rachel like that was way creepy.

"Please Rach," he whispered. He felt her move and breathed a sigh of relief. He hugged her and took the opportunity to whisper in her ear.

"I'm sorry Rach I really am. I know it doesn't hurt there but…"

"It's ok Noah," she said hugging him back. Everyone smiled seeing them like that. No one seemed to notice that Finn wasn't smiling along with the rest of them…

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed it!! See you tomorrow around the same time haha

Just so you guys know. This is a fiction story. I do NOT say in any way that you should wait to report an assault. Please do not take this story as what you should do if anything should happen to you. It makes a difference in how quickly you report an assault or an attempted assault. Please if something does happen to you call the police right away. And if this message confuses you about why the story is so different, things will be explained next chapter... or the chapter after it haven't decided yet.


	8. Chapter 7

So I want to take this opportunity to post the little notice I added at the end of the chapter last time. For those of you who read it within maybe like an hour of me uploading it you may not have seen it so here it is again: Just so you guys know. This is a fiction story. I do NOT say in any way that you should wait to report an assault. Please do not take this story as what you should do if anything should happen to you. It makes a difference in how quickly you report an assault or an attempted assault. Please if something does happen to you call the police right away. And if this message confuses you about why the story is so different, things will be explained next chapter... or the chapter after it haven't decided yet.

So yeah the police thing will be explained next chapter when Rachel is awake haha. Enjoy!!

Oh I don't think I've ever done this so: I don't own Glee

* * *

Last time:

_"I'm sorry Rach I really am. I know it doesn't hurt there but…"_

_"It's ok Noah," she said hugging him back. Everyone smiled seeing them like that. No one seemed to notice that Finn wasn't smiling along with the rest of them…_

_

* * *

  
_

"What do you want to do now Rachel?" asked Puck gently. Her eyes darted over to the boys and back.

"Can… Can the boys leave?" she asked softly clearly ashamed of the request. However the way she was holding onto Puck's arm spoke volumes to the fact that he wasn't included in the statement.

"It's cool Rachel," said Mike standing up.

"Feel better," said Artie. Finn didn't say anything but just got up but as he was about to leave he noticed something.

"What about Kurt? He's a guy why is he staying?" Everyone looked at him in disbelief and Mike just smacked him across the back of the head before pulling him out the door.

"What? I know he's gay but that doesn't change the fact he's a guy," they all heard Finn protest. Puck heard Rachel giggle slightly and praised the fact his best friend was so dumb at times… What the hell was he talking about? Finn was always dumb.

He turned his focus back to Rachel.

"What do you want to do Rach? Do you want to talk some more?"

She shook her head immediately. "No. No more talking." Puck nodded but knew he would have to push the issue again at some point and he dreaded when he was going to have to.

"Ok. Then you wanna watch a movie?" he asked. She nodded.

"Then come on girl!" said Mercedes taking her arm and pulling her gently towards the kitchen. "Let's get some snacks!" Tina smiled and quickly followed them but as Kurt went to follow Puck spoke up.

"Hold up there Hummel. We need to talk."

"What's up Puck?" said Kurt looking at him confused. Puck took a few more steps closer to him, towering over the soprano.

"You know Rachel may have forgiven you but I have my eye on you. You were a real asshole earlier today and that's not gonna fly anymore. Got it?" hissed Puck. Kurt went white, then a nasty shade of green before nodding quickly.

"You know this would be really touching if I weren't so terrified." Puck rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," he said before heading over to browse through the DVDs the Berry's owned. It took a little while but eventually Rachel and the girls came back. Puck was pleased to see the ghost of a smile hiding on Rachel's face.

"What do you want to watch Rachel?" he asked. "I don't see anything other than musicals or chick flicks."

"Beauty in the Beast," she replied softly. Puck quickly forced down the look of disgust he was sure was trying to manifest itself on his face. Then he felt like punching himself because seriously? Manifest? Even though he didn't make the face Rachel seemed to know.

"I want to watch it because no matter the bad things that happen, everything ends happy." Puck felt himself smiling slightly. Not only was that the longest thing she had said since she told everyone what happened but she wanted to see something happy to make her believe everything would be ok. He pulled it out and popped it in the DVD player before flopping onto the couch. He was pleased beyond belief when Rachel sat down next to him. She didn't have any snacks with her.

"I thought Mercedes took you to get snacks," he said.

"I'm not hungry," she replied, her voice's volume still way too low for his taste. "But you can go get some if you want."

"I'm good," he said before gently putting his arm around her and pulling her close to him. She leaned against him, her head resting on his shoulder. He ignored the looks he was getting from the others and started the movie. As the movie went on he found himself playing with her hair, and it seemed to be calming her down. He didn't realize how tense she had been before he felt her start to calm down. Also throughout the movie she had kept getting closer to him. At one point she had wrapped her arms around him slightly awkwardly. He picked up her legs and slid her onto his lap. She sighed contently and continued watching the movie, her head still nestled in his shoulder. He heard a snicker at this and rolled his eyes. He really really hoped he wouldn't have to deal with the girls of the group for much longer. He was in desperate need of testosterone but had already accepted he wasn't going to be around anymore of it tonight. Rachel was almost asleep when the movie ended.

"Aladdin," she murmured sleepily. Puck smiled in thanks to Tina who got up and changed the DVDs for him so he wouldn't have to move. She was right on the edge of sleep when 'A Whole New World' started and he could feel her humming slightly before her breathing deepened and she completely fell asleep. Puck made a motion to the others, to indicate she was asleep and they all nodded. They got up and silently began to leave.

"I know she wouldn't mind if we stayed but our parents would freak out," whispered Kurt.

"You're staying right?" asked Mercedes. He nodded, his arms moving unconsciously to a more protective position around Rachel. The three smiled widely and left. Puck decided to let the movie continue to play. He had felt Rachel start to move slightly, and hoped the music would help keep the nightmares from coming around. (Besides he had already sat through Beauty and the Beast and it wasn't like his little sister had never watched the movies before). But this time he actually found himself paying attention. He blamed it on the massive amounts of estrogen he had been around that day. At the end of the movie his head was cocked thoughtfully. The movie was actually kind of sweet. The princess falling in love with the street rat even when the whole world thought he was a loser. He found himself looking at Rachel. He almost identified with Aladdin. If the jocks knew about this side of him, he'd be dropped to the bottom of the social ladder. I mean even towards the top he was seen as a loser. His face darkened slightly as the words 'Lima Loser' ran through his head but he pushed them to the side. But Rachel… And his face lightened as he looked back towards her. Rachel could see him for who he really was… and still liked him. She could bring out the best of him. And probably most importantly…

She didn't think he was a loser.

He smiled and stood up, making sure not to move her too much. Her head slipped from his shoulder to his chest and she snuggled closer to him. He turned off the tv and everything before heading upstairs. He reached a slight problem in trying to pull down the covers without setting her down, but after some tries he did it and slid her into bed. Then he hesitated. He really wanted to climb into bed with her… He sighed and covered her up before leaning against the bed by her and began to slide down. When he had slid all the way to floor and let his head lean back against her bed he realized that the Disney movies had really turned him into a pussy. He was going to sleep on the god damned floor!!! God what he did to make sure she wasn't thinking the wrong things about why he was helping her. He sighed, resigning himself to the fact, he was a pussy at least for that night, before closing his eyes and trying to get some rest.

* * *

This chapter is a little shorter but I think it makes up for it with the amount of Puck looking inside himself. Oh I did get one review about wondering why she's freaking out so much at how little (comparatively to what might have happened) happened to her. The way I look at it, she's freaking out because her mind won't stop showing her what might have happened. Hope you guys liked the chapter!!


	9. Chapter 8

Ok guys, here's the next chapter but there might be an interruption in how often I'll be updating. I'm driving back to college today and 2nd semester starts tomorrow. I'm a music major so practicing and homework come before the story. However I can promise you unless I get super busy (unlikely this early in the semester) I may be able to continue the one update a day schedule. Maybe once every two days because hey I do have friends other than school work haha. Thanks for understanding. :) Enjoy the chapter!!

* * *

Rachel's eyes slowly opened. The moved over to the clock. It was about 6:30, a half an hour later than she normally gets up but her alarm hadn't been set. She remembered everything from yesterday including falling asleep while watching movies with Noah. She sat up in alarm.

"Noah?" she whispered looking around frantically. Did he leave her alone? She swung her legs out of bed and shrieked when they hit something and she heard a grunt of pain. She squeaked pulling her legs back up onto her bed. It had clearly been a man grunting but as she looked towards the edge of the bed, she saw the familiar mohawk and relaxed.

"Noah?"

"Geez Berry you kick hard," he muttered rubbing his head.

"Why were you sleeping on the floor?" He shrugged before standing up, groaning slightly.

"I didn't want to freak you out when you woke up. In bed with a guy or whatever."

She smiled slightly before it fell away. "I thought you had left me alone," she whispered. She saw his face go slightly hard, and he reached over, taking her hands gently and pulling her out of bed before wrapping her in a hug.

"Never," he whispered back fiercely. She smiled and hugged him back. When they separated he ran a hand through his hair.

"You… you didn't have any nightmares?" he asked finally. She shook her head.

"Well, it wasn't exactly a nightmare. It was just a swirl of color and sound that wasn't pleasant but not a nightmare." He nodded clearly relieved.

"Good. And you're even starting to talk like yourself again," he said with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"Longer sentences. The bigger words are starting to come back," he said the smirk changing into a genuine smile. "It's freaky when you are just saying one word sentences." Rachel felt herself relax and nodded with a small smile.

"I'm going to take a shower," she said. "Then you can use it and we can go to school."

He frowned. "Rachel you don't have to force yourself to go to school."

She smiled softly at him. "Noah, if I don't go…" she struggled for words. "I don't want them to think that they can scare me," she said finally. The frown on his face grew.

"But they did scare you…" he said confused but clearly trying to figure out how she was thinking. She smiled slightly and couldn't help but thinking how much smarter he was than Finn. Sure he was confused, but he was actively trying to figure out how she was thinking.

"And I don't want them to know that. See?" she said. She smiled when she saw the realization and pride in his eyes. He hugged her again.

"You're so strong Rach."

"It's not all me. I have to get it from somewhere," she said with a smile towards him and god those few words made him feel 100 feet tall. She squeezed his hand before turning to gather clothes, getting ready for her shower.

"Rachel," he said quickly. "Try not to space out ok? Tina and Mercedes aren't around to get you out…" he finished awkwardly. He saw the faintest tinge of a blush as she realized what he meant.

"I'll make sure to stay focused," she said before slipping into the bathroom. Puck sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed. Now that he was awake everything from yesterday was coming back. Including Rachel's reluctance to call the cops. He could hear humming from the bathroom, which made him happier. She was starting to get back to normal… But there was no way he could let the police issue where it was. He really hoped that when he brought it up she wouldn't freak out… He looked up surprised as Rachel stepped out of the bathroom, hair wet but dressed.

"You haven't even been in there 15 minutes yet," he protested. She couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face. He clearly had only been around girl's who extremely cared about their looks.

"I don't see the point in wasting time in the shower. Or doing my makeup or hair. I only take the time to make myself look good. No more no less," she said with a smile. He just stared at her with a small smirk.

"That's hot," he finally said and she just laughed sitting down in front of the mirror with a hair dryer and curling iron.

"Thanks Noah. You can take a shower now."

He paused before sighing.

"Actually I wanted to talk to you… I really don't want to hurt you or bring up bad memories but…"

She turned around after studying him in the mirror for a moment. "Just say it Noah," she said softly. "If you're bringing it up, it must be important, and I think you've realized that the only reason I'm this peppy is because I'm blocking it."

He sighed, sorry to ruin the good mood but knowing it had to be done. He reached out his hand and she stood up and walked over to him. He brushed a wet lock of hair off her cheek.

"I know a lot happened yesterday," he started softly. "But… we need to talk about… calling the police."

He felt her stiffen. "No," she said immediately.

"Why?" he shot back, but his voice was empty of any anger. She sighed, contemplating telling him he wouldn't understand but couldn't bring herself to shut him out like that.

"Nothing would happen. They didn't actually do anything."

"Like hell they didn't," he growled. She shook her head.

"The most they did was rip my shirt."

"They grabbed your butt! You said they did!" he growled trying to control his anger but he was losing his patience. Not with her of course. He was just angry in general and at the hockey players.

"A good lawyer could get them off as harmless high school indiscretions… It's not worth reliving that to see them get off."

"But the guy who ripped your shirt," he said frantically grabbing at anything. "What about him?"

"He could plead down to a warning or community service."

"How do you know?" he demanded. She hesitated and he felt a sense of dread. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and pulled her slightly closer.

"Rachel?" he asked.

"I've looked into laws to see if anything that has been done to me, the egg throwing, the slushies, could be prosecuted. Or if there would be any kind of punishment to make it all stop," she said quickly. She wished she had never said the words when she saw the heartbroken look on his face.

"We… I… drove you to…" She took his head and raised it so his eyes would meet hers. She regretted it immediately, seeing the empty look in his eyes just tore at her heart.

"Noah you listen to me. Believe me when I say this. Ok?" He just nodded after a while.

"You only ever threw slushies at me-"

"That's bad enough," he said but she placed a gentle hand over his lips.

"You apologized and I know you really meant it… I'm sorry for ever implying that you weren't sincere. I can't say you weren't one of the reasons I looked into the laws but I can swear to you, that it was one of the smallest reasons. I first looked into the laws because of the people who were sexually harassing me. Notes, the pornographic pictures in the bathroom, those kind of things." He growled and stood up.

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter."

"You looked into what the law could do. It matters. Now tell me who so I can beat the hell out of them."

"Noah I can't tell you how much it means to me that you would do that for me. Really," she insisted tugging at him to make him sit down again. "But let it go. For me. What those people did to me is in the past and to be honest since I decided to work towards the goal of sectionals with all of Glee it hasn't bothered me as much." He sighed.

"Fine," he muttered though she could tell he wasn't happy about it.

"I know you think that I don't deserve to be treated that way…" She smirked as he ducked his head. She had hit exactly how he felt. "But thank you," she said pressing a kiss to his forehead. She felt him relax at the small gesture. He marveled at how she was able to calm him down. He stood up and pulled her into his arms.

"I swear to you," he whispered. "No one will ever hurt you again." Her arms tightened around him and her stomach felt like it was doing a little dance in happiness… Something that had never happened around Finn even when he had kissed her. She just laughed in her head. What was she doing even thinking about Finn at the moment? She felt more protected around Noah but of course that could be contributed to what he did yesterday. He was smarter than Finn… She paused her thoughts for the moment. She was confused but smiled at Noah.

"I need to finish my hair is that ok?" she asked. He just smirked and nodded.

"You can take a shower," she offered.

"No point," he replied. "Not like I have clean clothes to put on afterwards." She just smiled and turned on the hair dryer. She took the time to think again about Finn and Noah. Why did it feel like her heart was changing its mind? And that it had started before Noah ever rescued her?...

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So this is a further in depth explanation of why Rachel doesn't want to call the police

PLEASE NOTE!! I do not know the laws around this. I didn't look up anything for reference for this chapter. The most I know about laws and things are what I've seen on shows such as CSI and Law and Order: SVU. I'm aware Rachel is probably very wrong in how she's thinking but this is the way I would like the story to work. I understand it's probably very wrong and please do not use this story as a guide to what you should do if something happens to you.

Anyway, if Rachel seems weird to you in this chapter she sort of explains it in the chapter 'I'm blocking it.' If you still don't understand she and Noah will discuss it next chapter. Hope you guys loved it Oh before I go damn guys I can't believe how many reviews favorites and story alerts I have. As of last night I had over 15,000 hits ok that's insane guys. Thanks so much to all of you guys!!


	10. Chapter 9

Ok first, I make no promises about an upload tomorrow. This chapter was hard enough to write though that was because I was trying to put in some fluff but more angst came out. Second, Bibz, author of Use Somebody (I would link you but links hate me. She's on fanfiction.), a fabulous Puck/Rachel fic, wanted longer chapters. Now she's not the first one to comment about that so I tried to make this chapter a little longer. I was going to stop it right before the door bell rings. You'll see haha. Enjoy!!

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Last time:

_"You can take a shower," she offered._

_"No point," he replied. "Not like I have clean clothes to put on afterwards." She just smiled and turned on the hair dryer. She took the time to think again about Finn and Noah. Why did it feel like her heart was changing its mind? And that it had started before Noah ever rescued her?..._

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Puck studied her as she dried her hair before curling the ends slightly. She was really deep in thought. He sighed again her words that she was blocking what happened yesterday worrying him. He looked towards her clock. They still had plenty of time before school started and in no way did he want her there any more than she had to be. Rachel looked up at his sigh pulled from her thoughts. She smiled, seeing it was now him lost in his thoughts. Then she heard his stomach grumble loudly. He looked up and caught her eyes.

"Would you like something to eat?" she asked with a small smile.

"Yeah," he replied with a chuckle. "I haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday."

"Why didn't you say anything yesterday?!" she cried out upset.

"Because I was too worried about you. I wouldn't have been able to eat anyway," he said. As he heard what he had just said it struck him that she had a way of making him say exactly what was on his mind. He'd have to watch that. Rachel hesitated clearly still upset he hadn't eaten because of her but finally nodded.

"Come on. I think we have some cereal downstairs," she said.

"Have any eggs?" he asked.

"I don't know maybe. We only usually eat cereal." He nodded before following her to the kitchen. He rummaged around her fridge before pulling out half a dozen eggs and some cheese.

"Cheese omelets," he said with a smile.

"You can cook?" asked Rachel. He nodded but he could feel himself tensing up.

"Single mom you know. Have to feed my sis sometimes," he said shortly before busying himself with the preparations. She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's nothing to be ashamed about Noah. I'm quite impressed. It's very sweet that you take care of your younger sister." She smiled as she felt him relax. She sat down at the table.

"Rachel…" he started before shaking his head. "Never mind."

"Noah. Just tell me," she said and he could hear the smile in her voice. He sighed.

"Just wait until I'm done with this and then I'll tell you ok?"

"Sure," she replied. In no time a plate with a perfect omelet was placed in front of her.

"Wow Noah! This looks fantastic!!"

"It's really nothing," he said before digging into his own. Rachel sort of picked at it not really hungry.

"You can have mine if you want too," she offered. He frowned.

"You really should eat Rachel. You didn't eat anything yesterday night either." She shrugged. He reached over and cut the omelet, taking the larger piece.

"Eat that," he said. "You'll need it." Rachel smiled at him before eating the omelet, if only to make him happy.

"So what did you want to say?" she asked after they were both finished. He ran a hand through his hair, something she realized he did when he was nervous.

"Rachel… I'm really happy you're acting close to normal today but… you said earlier it's because you're blocking what happened yesterday and I don't think you should do that."

"I talked about it what more do you want me to do Noah?" she asked, her voice sounding broken.

"I think you need to accept that it happened and use it to…" He paused, letting out a frustrated sigh searching for the right words. "What's all that sappy shit they say on the stupid talk shows? You have to use the bad to make yourself stronger?" He saw the strange look she was giving him and sighed again.

"Look Rach. You may think blocking what happened is for the best but what happens when you see the same hockey dicks today at school? Everything will break whatever's blocking it in and you'll be in worse shape than you were," he said. That exact scenario had been playing in his head while he had been making breakfast and it was enough to make him want to bash his own head with the frying pan just to make it stop. He saw her eyes water and he was at her side in a second.

"No don't cry. Please don't cry," he pleaded, not completely realizing he was begging because there was no way under normal circumstances would Noah Puckerman beg for anything. She wrapped her arms around him.

"How do you know all this?" she asked looking up at him and her jaw dropped slightly as she saw the hints of a blush on his face.

"My mom watches Dr. Phil," he mumbled. She giggled slightly and gave him a small squeeze.

"Rach, it's ok to put up a strong front. In fact I would do that today," he said. "But don't try to block what happened. Use it to make you stronger. You never stopped fighting them when they had you remember?" But suddenly his words made his stomach turn and he let go of her.

"Noah what's wrong?" asked Rachel, all her problems forgotten. She watched his eyes go glassy as they looked into hers, his face was white, and it looked like he was shaking.

"Noah!" she cried, scared out of her mind… And he spoke, only the tiniest of whispers.

"I was the one that broke you…"

"What? No. Noah you saved me," she said firmly reaching for his hand but he backed away.

"No… You were still fighting them when I came…" Rachel's eyes widened as she realized what he was talking about.

"No. You're wrong Noah. Don't think that!" she demanded, but the hollow look in his eyes wouldn't go away.

"I didn't know what I was doing," he whispered. "I didn't know why I was saying those things, but it got them away and that's all I cared about…" His eyes focused slightly on her.

"You only stopped fighting them… when you thought I…"

"No! Noah listen to me. Listen to me!!" she cried. It almost broke her heart when she saw the smallest of tears escape from his eye. In the back of his mind Tina's words were echoing, but he couldn't bring himself to listen to them. She darted towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist before he could move away.

"You listen to me Noah Puckerman," she demanded. "I would still be like this today even if you had beaten up every single one of the hockey players yesterday. I understand why you said those words, and those words aren't what's hurting me now. What they did to me hurts…" she said and raised a hand to his face. "But seeing you like this hurts more. Yesterday I stopped struggling when you said those things because I was already emotionally spent from what the hockey team had done."

She watched as her words slowly sunk in, and guilt started to appear on his face replacing the hollowness that had been there. His arms came around her.

"I'm sorry Rachel…" he whispered. "I should never-"

"It's ok," she interrupted, squeezing him slightly. "I understand Noah. Thank you."

Her kinds words, though few, broke through the walls he had thrown up and all the emotion he had felt from yesterday till now flew out of him. He stood holding her, sobbing. Despite the fact he was crying, Rachel smiled. It was about time he had a good release. Even though she hadn't been herself yesterday she was very aware of all the stress she had put him through and to feel him cry on her shoulder was one of the best feelings she'd had. She gently rubbed his back and soon the flood of emotions ran dry. He squeezed her once before letting her go and scrubbing at his face.

"Don't be ashamed Noah," she said softly, a kind smile on her face. "I'm sure every one of us will have a good cry before this is all over." And instead of a snappy comeback, he just smiled back at her and nodded.

"Thanks Rachel."

They both heard the door bell ring. Rachel looked confused but Puck had an idea who it might be. Rachel answered the door. Outside stood Tina, Mercedes, and Kurt. She could see Mike, Matt, and Artie back by the cars parked on the street.

"Oh honey you look so much better. How are you feeling?" asked Kurt. Rachel felt her eyes water.

"You all came for me?"

"Course they did," said Puck standing behind her.

"Are y-you guys ok?" asked Tina, surprised to see that they both had been crying. Puck was grateful they didn't say anything directly about it. Rachel turned and shared a soft smile with him which he returned.

"Yeah… We're good," she said turning back to her friends. All three's eyebrows flew up, and Kurt and Mercedes shared a glance. After a pause, Kurt spoke up again.

"Rachel, how do you feel about being around guys today? Just our friends of course." Rachel paused.

"I don't know. I guess we can always see how I feel now," she said. "Are you ready Noah?" she asked turning to him.

"Well if it's ok to leave dirty dishes until you come back then yeah," he replied.

"Yeah that's fine," replied Rachel stepping outside. They locked the door and headed towards the parked cars and the rest of their friends.

"Hey Rachel!" called Mike waving. Matt just rolled his eyes at his friend who was waving like an idiot.

"How are you feeling?" asked Artie.

"Better," she replied. "But I'm sure that will change once we get to school." She smiled, realizing she didn't feel scared around her guy friends anymore. The guy's all smiled at her smile.

"Does this mean you feel ok around us now Rachel?" asked Matt. She nodded happily.

"That's great honey!" cried Kurt.

"Good for you Rach," said Puck putting an arm around her shoulders. She smiled at everyone, a warm feeling in her heart.

"Let's go to school guys." They smiled back and divided up into the different cars.

"Oh Rachel!" called Mike. "Brittany says she hopes you're feeling better."

"Brittany does?" asked Rachel confused. "But yesterday…" Mike laughed.

"She just needed it explained to her another time. She's going to be helping out today," he said before jumping into his car. Rachel turned to Noah.

"Helping out with what?"

"Making sure you're never by yourself," he replied as he climbed into his truck.

"You guys are doing that for me?" she asked shocked. He just chuckled.

"You think we're going to let you fend for yourself when the dicks are on the prowl?"

Rachel smiled. "Thanks Noah." Then her smile widened. "You just used the words 'fend' and 'prowl' properly in the same sentence!" He groaned and whacked his head against the steering wheel.

"It's your fault," he grumbled. She just giggled. He growled and pulled out of the driveway, following their friends to school.

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So this story isn't going to be ending any time soon. I have way too many ideas on how to integrate my story line with what the show has shown us so far. I have multiple scenes from the future written already. Mainly the big ones which coincidentally I'm not allowed to tell cuz that will ruin the surprise ;) I even have different places where I only have a few lines written but it sets the scene etc. Anyway I want to thank you guys again. From yesterday I've jumped 3000 hits and I'm over 200 alerts. I'm close to 150 reviews and I'm wondering if I should do something special for number 200 but I don't know what I've never had a story this popular. Oh and remember I make no promises about an update tomorrow!! Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 10

So as I was writing this last night I thought it was coming out really bad and I was forcing it, but rereading it this morning I think it's actually a whole lot better than I thought it was. I added a few things, changed a few things and here it is. I got more in depth into what Rachel and Puck are thinking. Especially Puck. However more angst is on the horizon. I have half of the next chapter written already and I've had it written almost since I started this story. Anyway as you noticed this is uploaded later then when I normally do. It's because I'm breaking out of that schedule because I know I won't be able to keep it for much longer. I'm still uploading today because I think the chapter is ready to come out. I've reread it loads of times and I'm confident that its how it should be. Also enjoy the longer length :) Enjoy!!!

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Puck pulled into a parking space at school, and hopped out of the truck. Before he closed his door, he heard Rachel take a deep breath before opening hers. He walked around the truck before putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Everything's going to be ok," he promised. A smile slowly formed on her face and she nodded. They started to head into school. The others were helping Artie out of the car. Before they got halfway to the door, a hockey player stepped in front of them. He saw Rachel shrink back slightly and he stepped forward slightly, blocking her.

"It's about time you brought her back," the hockey player said. "We thought we weren't going to get our turn." He reached for Rachel. "Thanks-"

Puck reacted in an instant, his fist crashing into the hockey player's face. He crumpled to the ground out like a light.

"Dude…" He heard Mike say in reverence behind him. He turned to see everyone rushing over.

"You knocked him out with one hit." Puck just shrugged before throwing his arm around Rachel's shoulders. She moved closer to him, wrapping her arm around his waist. Everyone saw it as a form of protection. With Rachel that close to him, only idiots would try to confront him. They didn't run into any trouble through the hallways and they soon they reached Rachel's locker. She opened it and pulled out her cell phone.

"I have a few missed calls from Mr. Schue," she said frowning.

"Schue has your phone number?" said Puck scanning the hallways.

"Of course Noah. He has all of our numbers in case of emergency." She then began to collect the things she need for her first couple of classes.

"Well I guess you'll get to know why he called you," said Puck. "He's headed right for us." She looked up to see their teacher making a bee line for them.

"Rachel you're ok. Quinn said something happened with the hockey team? What's going on?" Rachel looked down, her face falling.

"Not here Mr. Schue," she said. He frowned.

"Ok Miss Pillsberry's office then." Rachel just nodded and shut her locker. Puck frowned.

"Do we have to Mr. Schue?" Mr. Schue raised his eyebrow.

"We?"

"Yes we. She's not going without me," replied Puck, pulling her slightly closer to him. She seemed to relax slightly. Mr. Schue's eyes darted between them before finally motioning to them both to follow him.

"It's going to be ok Rachel. You don't have to say anything you don't want to," Puck whispered to her before putting his arm around her shoulders again. She nodded, feeling safer when she was closer to him.

"Thank you Noah."

"It's no problem." They walked into the red head's office and sat down. Mr. Schue looked at both of them. From the look of Miss Pillsberry, their teacher had told her what was going on.

"So what happened yesterday?" questioned Mr. Schue. Rachel looked to Puck who nodded.

"The hockey team tried to get back at me for slapping Noah the other day."

"Why did you slap him?" asked Miss Pillsberry.

"I thought he had thrown a slushy on me."

"But he didn't?"

"No, that was one of the hockey players."

"How did they try to get you back?" Rachel shook her head and look towards Puck.

"They tied her up, took her to the auditorium where they presented her to me as a present for me to use and after I was done they would use," said Puck icily. Both of the teacher's eyes went wide and there was a silence for a while.

"Noah saved me," said Rachel softly. Puck could see the pride and respect in Mr. Schue's eyes and it made him feel really good. To have the respect of a teacher was something he never thought he would have.

"Did you call the police Rachel?" asked Miss Pillsberry.

"No," replied Rachel. Mr. Schue looked at her oddly.

"Why not?"

"Do we really need to do this?" demanded Puck. "I've gone over with her why she didn't call the police. The kids won't get the punishment they deserve because they didn't actually do anything and she doesn't want to relive this anymore than she already has. She's told all the Glee kids what happened."

"The Glee kids know?" said Mr. Schue.

"Yeah so get the story from them or something," said Puck, looking at Rachel concerned. Miss Pillsberry spoke up.

"Ok you can go then." Rachel stood up hurriedly and Puck followed her out of the office. He looked back to see the two teachers deep in discussion. He sighed, grateful they had trusted his word. Though they probably only did because Rachel told them he had saved her.

"You gonna be ok Rach?" he asked. She sighed.

"I don't know Noah." He looked around and pulled her closer to him. He gently tilted her head up so she was looking at him.

"It's going to be ok. Trust me."

"I do," she replied. He smiled at her and she gave a small smile back.

"It'll be ok," he said before they went on their way.

The rest of the day went smoothly. By the end Rachel was into her routine. She had been escorted around the school, but none of the hockey players had approached her. However, when Mike, Matt, and Puck had been alone a few of the stupider ones had confronted them. By the end of the day all three boys were feeling a lot calmer, their frustrations taken out. The bell rang to signal the end of the next to last class of the day. Rachel packed up her things and without thinking left the room immediately, not waiting for her friends to arrive. She was actually thinking about Noah, how he had seemed so insightful about her blocking what had happened. So she hadn't forgotten or blocked what had happened, but it didn't seem to be affecting her the way she thought it would. She had expected it to pop up in the middle of class or just distract her all day, but it didn't. She smiled thinking it must be her friends that were helping her to overcome it. Friends. She never thought she would have them. She owed Noah so much. She rounded the corner and almost ran into Karofsky. A big smile spread across his face. She whimpered slightly, her positive thoughts forgotten, and took a step back.

"Well there you are," he said. "About time Puckerman left you alone. Keeping you all to himself."

Suddenly, she felt someone come up behind her and take her by the arm. She would have freaked out but the touch was so gentle she knew it was one of her friends. She recognized Mike as he began to move her away from Karofsky. She stumbled slightly as she was passed from him to Matt. Matt gently moved her behind him and Artie rolled in front of her, acting as a last defense.

"You got a problem Karofsky?" demanded Mike, the fire of anger clear in his voice. Karofsky growled, upset he had been interrupted.

"Yeah we just want our turn with the little bitch. It's clear you guys had your turn."

Mike shoved him. Rachel gasped as Karofsky fired back with a fist instead of a push. Matt motioned to Artie before stepping in front of Mike and punching Karofsky back. Artie meanwhile had started to roll away taking Rachel with him. Mike followed them and they ended up in the choir room. Rachel rushed over to Mike as soon as the door was closed. Her hands flew to her mouth as she saw the bruises already forming around his eye.

"Oh Mike…" He just shrugged it off.

"It's no big deal Rachel really." At that moment Puck ran into the choir room, a slushy in his hand, but he was so worried he didn't even notice he was gripping it so hard it was about to break.

"Where is she?" he demanded. "She didn't stay at her last class and I saw Matt and Karofsky-"

"I'm fine Noah," said Rachel moving from where she had been hidden behind Mike. She watched as the stress flew away from him and he moved closer to her.

"Really Noah. Mike, Matt, and Artie were wonderful." Mike turned around with a smile and Artie just shrugged.

"Dude man," said Puck looking at Mike's face.

"Karofsky sucker punched me."

"Oh Noah this is perfect!" said Rachel taking the slushy from him and handing it to Mike. "You should get some ice on it right away but if you go to the nurse you could get in trouble." Puck chuckled slightly at her. Then he noticed how gentle she was showing Mike how to hold the cup to his face. She turned back to see a flash of jealousy in Puck's eyes. It was slightly confusing considering they weren't dating anymore but… It almost seemed normal… like they _were_ dating and he was getting slightly jealous. She moved back over to Puck and took his hand with a small smile. He looked down at her with a smile of his own. It still amazed him at how easily she could read him. Matt then walked into the room.

"You ok man?" asked Mike.

"Yeah," he replied. "Karofsky's a pansy and why are you holding a slushy to your face?"

"Rachel told me to," retorted Mike. Puck ignored them and looked to Rachel.

"You just want to stay here until Glee?" he asked.

"But we would miss last period," she replied frowning.

"Rachel, it's not going to be that bad. Besides I think you need a break from dodging hockey players all day." Rachel hesitated before nodding. Mike, Matt, and Artie all said goodbye and it was just Puck and Rachel in the room. He took her hand and pulled her to the chairs. They sat down next to each other, and she leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder with a sigh. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. They sat in silence and before long, Puck began playing with her hair. She still seemed a little tense so he began to hum. He felt her relax as she recognized the song. He smiled and kept humming 'Sweet Caroline'. It was really nice just sitting here with her, he realized. He started thinking about what would happen once this had all blown over. Would she still want him around? Or would she go back to trying to get Finn? The very thought was enough to make him sick. He almost sighed realizing how much he really wanted to be friends with her. (Or more.) He ignored that voice in his head. He would have to tell her he was lying that day on the bleachers when he said they weren't friends. He focused back on her. He was grateful at how easily he was able to calm her down. She really trusted him now that he had saved her. That thought paused him for a second. Was she only being around him because she was grateful he saved her? He quickly decided the answer to that question was no (for more reasons than he didn't even want that to be true). If she hadn't wanted him around, she would have asked for Finn (who had been suspiciously absent from the protect Rachel group) today now that she was feeling better. And everything she had said to him, it seemed more than just gratefulness. He decided that she did consider him a friend and all he would have to do was tell her he felt the same. The period had gone by the time he had come to that conclusion and the bell rang. A few minutes later Kurt burst into the room.

"We have a problem." Puck frowned.

"Like what?"

"Tina was just slushied to hell and back. The hockey team did it. Artie's pissed."

"Beyonce. Why is that a problem? Hockey team are dicks so what?"

"They slushied Brittany," said Kurt breathless. Puck heard Rachel gasp next to him.

"They're…" she whispered. Kurt nodded.

"Spell it out!" demanded Puck, angry he wasn't thinking fast enough to understand like Rachel seemed to. Of course it went without saying he was pissed they had slushied Brittany. How could you even do that?

"They're going after us through the girls," said Kurt. "We've been "keeping" Rachel from them so they're trying to piss us off."

"Well it's working," growled Puck. He stood up. "Get Mercedes here now," he told Kurt.

"Noah what are you doing?" demanded Rachel.

"Going after the douches with Artie, Mike, and Matt."

"And me," said Finn walking into the room, Quinn next to him. "I took her here after I heard what was going on."

"You mean I told you what was going on," huffed Quinn. "How dare they slushy her?"

"It's like slushying a kid," said Kurt shaking his head. Puck and Finn headed for the door but Puck turned around to look at Kurt.

"You and Mercedes keep her safe," was all he said before he left. A huge smirk spread on Kurt's face before he sauntered over to Rachel.

"Does he have it bad or what?" he said nudging her playfully. Quinn rolled her eyes, before pulling out her cell phone and texting Santana who was taking care of Brittany.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," said Rachel crossing her arms. She refused to let herself think that way. After he had saved her she knew she was at risk for allowing herself to care too much for him from a single event, that while extremely amazing, should have no bearing on how she felt about him. However she knew she had already changed how she felt about him slightly. She trusted him exponentially more, which she had already decided was ok considering the circumstances. However she was worried at how easily he was able to calm her down. Of course she appreciated it but she knew there must be some kind of change in her subconscious emotions towards him to allow that to happen. She really didn't want to embarrass herself because she did something stupid towards Noah. Even more so she didn't want to lose the friendship she felt they had. Of course the worry that his words on the bleachers that day were still true lurked in the back of her mind. At times she wondered that once she was ok again if he would leave her... She focused back on Kurt. If he realized she had stopped listening to him because she was thinking about Noah she'd never hear the end of it.

"Yes you do," giggled Kurt.

"Santana says she just saw all the boys walking together," said Quinn, hoping to get them to shut up. She may have helped out Rachel, unknowingly to all of Glee of course, but that didn't mean she would stand listening to them talk about Puck being in love with her... Puck liking her. As a friend. That's all.

"How's Brittany?" asked Rachel, upset that she had been slushied because of her (sort of). Quinn softened slightly.

"Upset, but Santana thinks she'll be ok." Rachel nodded looking at her hands. All that was left to do now was to wait for Noah to come back. And she hoped he would come back uninjured.

* * *

Well there it is. Last night I thought that the Will and Emma convo with Puck and Rachel was kinda bad but rereading it today it seems better than I thought. If you guys think its not that good feel free to tell me. Of course I have a stronger feel of the kids than I do the teachers. Well anyway I'm really happy with this chapter especially the little peeks into what RAchel and Noah are thinking about each other. Hope you guys liked it too!!


	12. Chapter 11

Ok so first off I apologize for the multiple emails you guys probably got about the last chapter. Fanfiction was being stupid and saying that I hadn't uploaded when I knew I had. Also it's sending emails late. For example half the emails from two chapters ago not counting this one I only got today. Its quite frustrating. Anyway onto this chapter. Oh angst whenever I plan on writing a little of you more of you shows up. As normal, half of this chapter wasn't even in my head before I started writing the chapter. Also its really long so I'm sure you guys will like that. Enjoy!!!

* * *

Puck stalked down the halls with Finn trailing behind slightly. It wasn't long before he heard Artie rolling along beside him. They passed a bathroom where Mike and Matt were standing outside and they just silently joined the group. It wasn't long until they found a small group of the hockey team just standing in the middle of the hall. Karofsky stepped forward and Puck walked right up to him, his eyes cold and hard from anger suppressed for so long.

"About time you showed up," sneered Karofsky. "And look. You even brought the cripple." The Glee boys bristled with anger.

"Bet he's pissed that we went after his little Stutterfly girlfriend," said another one of the hockey players. "Can you even please her cripple?" he laughed.

"That _cripple_ is twice the man you could ever hope to be," said Mike, his voice trembling with anger. Puck continued his glare down with Karofsky.

"Hey it's all good," said Karofsky feeling the tension start to reach the boiling point. "There's a simple solution to all of this." All the Glee boys looked at him disbelievingly.

"Just hand over the bitch and we stop slushieing your girls."

"Our girls? Whose girl is Brittany?" said Artie.

"I guess they're talking about me," said Mike. "But Brittany and I aren't dating."

"Well neither are me and Tina," said Artie.

Puck didn't say anything but continued glaring at Karofsky.

"So what do you say?" said Karofsky.

"No," said all the boys in unison. Karofsky laughed.

"Oh I get it. You're all sweet on her." Puck growled. It should have been seen as a warning but Karofsky either didn't care or was too stupid to notice.

"Is she that big a whore that she got hot when you raped her? Did she let all of you gang bang-"

The angry roars of all the boys interrupted Karofsky and Puck tackled him, his fists flying. Everyone else leapt at the other hockey players. Artie stayed back, angry but level headed enough to know if he tried to get involved it would only end badly. It didn't take long and Artie could see most of the guys winding down from their anger. That's when his eyes fell on Puck. He was still on top of Karofsky and he hadn't stopped punching. In fact Artie didn't even see Karofsky moving.

"Guys get Puck off him before he kills him!!!" he yelled. They all looked up and after seeing the situation jumped in. Mike got there first grabbing one of Puck's arms as he pulled it back to punch Karofsky again. Puck almost turned on him, but then Matt was there and Finn. They all seemed to realize they needed to get Puck away from Karofsky now. Without even speaking they knew where they were taking him.

It had been about 20 minutes since the guys had left. Tina had joined Rachel, Kurt, and Quinn in the choir room. She hadn't completely cleaned up, her hair was still sticky, but when she heard Artie had gone she had immediately come to the choir room to be there when he came back. Mercedes had come with her. She had been helping her clean off. All of their heads snapped up when the door banged open and Finn, Mike, and Matt dragged Puck inside. None of them had seen him that angry before. He was literally so angry, he couldn't speak and growls were heard constantly. It was taking all the three football players had to keep him from breaking away.

"We need to calm him down," said Artie rolling in quickly. "He freaked out when one Karofsky made a crack about Rachel. Well to be fair we all flipped out but it looked like Puck was trying to kill him…"

Rachel stood up and slowly approached him. "Noah?" she said softly, touching his arm. He snarled and whirled on her. She flinched away, her feet backing up until she ran into the piano. She had her arms in front of her, her eyes closed. Puck froze and everyone saw something flicker across his face before he fled from the room.

"Don't let him leave!" ordered Kurt. Mike was out the door before Kurt had even finished his sentence.

"Honey," said Kurt not sure if it was ok to touch her. Everyone was looking at her worriedly. She sobbed looking to him. "Oh honey he didn't mean it."

"Yeah Puck would never…" said Matt. She just wrapped her arms around herself and sat down on the piano bench. Finn just stood in the back, a frown on his face.

* * *

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck," repeated Puck over and over again. He stormed into the boy's bathroom before burying his fist into the metal side of the stalls. Over and over he punched against the stall punctuating every punch with a 'fuck.' He turned his head catching sight of himself in the mirror.

"Why the hell would you do that you asshole!!!" he yelled before shattering his reflection with his fist.

"Dude!" yelled Mike. Puck turned clenching his fist, allowing the pain from the broken glass to level his head.

"Why are you here?" said Puck.

"Kurt told me to keep you here."

Puck snorted. "You listen to Beyonce now?"

"When Rachel looks like that yeah."

Puck winced in spite of himself.

"You really fucked up man."

"You think I don't know that?! I just punched a fucking mirror I think I know what the hell I just did!" yelled Puck who wanted to punch something else but figured he needed to save one fist for beating the hell out of the rest of the hockey team. Mike just stared back at him and Puck felt the anger slowly slip away and all he could feel was guilt. He leaned against the dented stall. "Shit dude. How could I do that?"

"What's done is done," said Mike walking over to him. "Now you need to fix it. But don't worry too much about it. Rachel is probably going to forgive you. God knows how much stress you've internalized throughout yesterday and today."

Puck just looked at him. Mike sighed. "Look. Me and Matt are going to be here for you and Rachel no matter what. All you need to do is ask and we'll help."

"Yeah I figured that out when you took a punch from Karofsky," replied Puck lowering his defenses, in a rare show of emotions to someone other than Rachel. "Thanks man… It… It means a lot."

"It's no problem," said Mike clapping him on the back. "Oh, you should probably work on your anger towards the hockey players. As much as they deserve it, you and none of us want that anger to be taken out on Rachel no matter how accidental."

Puck flexed his fist feeling the blood drip off it. "This is doing a pretty good job of handling the anger."

"And get that wrapped up."

"Yeah yeah. Sound like my mother," muttered Puck before grabbing some paper towels and wrapping them around his hand. And just like that the moment was over and Puck was back to his normal self. Mike walked back into the choir room.

"He's coming," he said. Rachel looked up trying desperately to wipe the fresh tears from her face so she wouldn't upset Puck. He opened the door and shuffled in, keeping his eyes toward the ground. Unwittingly he looked up towards Rachel and his eyes were held there by the tear tracks on her cheeks.

"Rachel… I…" he raised a hand before letting it fall not sure what to do.

"What happened to your hand Noah?" she cried seeing the paper towels and the blood seeping through them.

"Nothing," he replied automatically. After a short silence where it appeared Puck wasn't going to speak for himself Mike spoke up.

"He punched a mirror."

"I was trying to punch myself," muttered Puck. Kurt snorted and Puck glared at him.

"Why would you do that Noah?" asked Rachel, upset he hurt himself… and upset with herself for driving him to it no matter how accidental.

"You should know why," he said quietly looking at his feet. She slowly walked towards him, her whole being already forgiving him and wanting to help him feel better. He looked up and took a step back.

"Rachel you don't have to force yourself to be near me. I… You know I… would never… but still… You shouldn't force yourself," he said. A small smile touched her lips and she continued walking towards him.

"Rachel I mean it!" he said frantically taking another step back. "You shouldn't force yourself. I scared you… again," he said his voice getting softer, more fragile. At those words she took more forceful steps and wrapped her arms around him. His arms came around her almost automatically but it took awhile for the tension to ease from his body as he saw she wasn't moving away. She looked up at him with a small smile.

"Tell me what you're thinking. What you were thinking."

"Rachel… I…" he said his eyes looking over at their audience. Her smile widened slightly.

"You shouldn't keep it bottled up inside." He felt his will almost completely dissolve at those words, the same words he had used to her. Well almost the same. She saw his eyes flick over to their friends again.

"Tell _me,_" she said emphasizing her words with her hand moving his face slightly away from their friends looking. He looked down at her, his eyes meeting hers. And lost in her eyes, those beautiful brown caring eyes (God he didn't deserve them), he began to speak.

"The hockey guy came up to me. Told me they had a present. I thought it was cool. In Glee but still had my badass rep that made people scared of me."

Rachel felt herself smile at this and knew she wasn't the only one. She was slightly surprised he had started that far back but realized that he needed to let out what had happened yesterday as much as she had. She just looked back at him, their eyes locked together.

"But then I heard a sound. And the sound… I didn't know what it was but it was enough to make me want to just run away and not look back. And then you were there and you were so scared and I didn't know what to do and then I was talking and I still didn't know what I was doing and I scared you more that I might actually… "

Unknown to both Puck and Rachel, everyone was staring at him in rapt attention, many with sympathetic looks on their faces. While most of them had tried to ignore their conversation, they couldn't speak to each other either so in the end they were all drawn to conversation, seeing how much both of them had been broken by the day before.

"And I could have stopped it. I could have stopped that kid before he got that close to you with the slushy. I could have told you I didn't do it. I could have told that kid to fuck off when he promised to get you back. So many times…" he said, the guilt and hurt in his eyes trying to be soothed by the concern in hers.

"And then Karofsky for even…" he trailed off not even wanting to think about it, his eyes almost breaking their link with hers.

"Noah," she said softly. "Tell me."

"No…" he said but his voice was weak and her eyes just kept burning into his. Matt went to open his mouth, but Mike just elbowed him and shook his head.

"He said…" started Puck before he swallowed. "He said… that… you were that big of a whore that you liked it when I raped you and then let the rest of the boys gangbang you that's why they were protecting you." If they heard the gasps of the girls and Kurt echo in the room they made no indication of it and Rachel's eyes were huge with disbelief and hurt.

"And I got so angry," he continued, his hand rubbing her back trying to calm her down from the insult that Karofsky had delivered through him. "And I just kept punching him and… I would have killed him," he said shakily before taking a deep breath.

"I would have killed him," he said again, his eyes firming and his voice strong and not a single person doubted his words.

"But…" he continued, the strength leaving his eyes. "Then… when you were just trying to help… I… I scared you again," he said begging her forgiveness with his eyes. "Rachel… I… I'm so sorry…"

"You would think I wouldn't forgive you? Think that I would be angry at you for standing up for me?" she said gently.

"You don't even have to apologize Noah."

"How can you forgive him?!" exploded a voice. Rachel and Puck jumped, their connection broken by the surprise. Everyone turned to see Finn, standing there practically shaking. The entire time Rachel and Puck had been talking, the fire of anger slowly began to curl within the quarterback. He could see everyone, even Quinn, felt so bad for them. But why? Puck had hurt her again. He was expecting to see Rachel yell at him, tell him to leave her alone, that she wanted Finn to take care of her. But no she had gone and hugged him and then they started talking their eyes locked like that. It was almost intimate. It was disgusting. But then for her to forgive him like nothing had happened… No. That was it.

"He just almost attacked you!!" continued Finn. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, Quinn's included but he couldn't bring himself to care. Quinn had helped them. Helped Rachel to see Puck wasn't a bad guy, but he was!!

"And from what he said, he scared you into thinking he would rape you!! You can't just forgive him like that!!" Everyone stared at him in shock expecting to hear Puck's angry voice yelling back but nothing came in the pause it took Finn to take a breath. They looked over to see Puck staring at the floor, just taking what Finn was saying. A few jaws dropped at this and a surge of hatred towards Finn started to be felt in many of the group. Rachel just stood there in shock at what Finn was saying about his best friend. She could see Mike's face twisted in a horrible anger filled expression but it seemed nobody could move and Finn continued.

"All he's done is hurt you!! Why do you keep forgiving him?! He slushied you, he just now almost physically hurt you!! And whatever the hell you two are he's just going to hurt you again!!"

And Rachel snapped.

"Oh like you haven't hurt me Mr. Hudson! You're here yelling at your _best friend_ like he actually did rape me! He saved me! He's protecting me! Which is more than I can say for you! Where were you today when the rest of my friends were making sure I wasn't alone? Multiple times you have led me along just to go back to Quinn! You think that doesn't hurt? I will not stand by to hear you accuse him of hurting me when you have done more than he has ever done. When he 'almost physically hurt me' earlier I just reacted. A side effect of what happened yesterday or have you forgotten that already? I know Noah would never hurt me."

"He's slushied you for years!!!" yelled Finn frustrated she didn't understand.

"Don't you interrupt me Finn Hudson!!" she yelled back stomping towards him. The Glee kids parted not wanting to get in the way of her now. "He has apologized for that. In fact he hasn't slushied me once since he promised me that he would never do it again! You know what I think this is? You're just jealous!! Jealous another boy is protecting me instead of you!!" Puck had begun looking up slightly as Rachel defended him. She was defending him… when Finn was right…

"You made your choice Finn and she's standing right there!!" yelled Rachel pointing. "In fact she's pregnant with your baby! What I do with my life and who I chose to hang around or even go out with are none of your concern!!! While Noah and I are not dating if I choose to go back out with him that is _my_ choice! If I choose to be his friend and hang around a lot that is _my_ choice! Hell if I choose to romp around naked with him that is _my _choice."

By this point everyone's mouths were hanging wide open. They had never, _never_, seen Rachel this angry before. Then she reached out and slapped Finn as hard as she could.

"You made your choice Finn. I don't care if you have feelings for me. I don't care. I'm done hurting and you know what? Noah makes me feel better. He doesn't hurt me. In fact he's helped me feel better. He's helped me through last night. He even slept on the floor instead of in bed with me."

A few kids looked like they could have fainted right then as they absorbed that statement.

"And you should think better of your best friend," snapped Rachel before turning on her heel and marching out of the room, grabbing Noah's hand and taking him with her. She quickly pulled him into a spare classroom, painfully aware he hadn't said anything back to Finn. Her hands shot up and held onto his face gently.

"Noah… Noah," she said worriedly, tears starting to fall, but not for herself, for him. For how he must be hurting at Finn's words.

"Look at me." He did but his eyes were dull. He slowly reached up and gently wiped her tears away. He had been gentle with her since yesterday, but he was barely even touching her skin.

"You listen to me," she demanded her grip on his face tightening slightly. "Finn is wrong." She felt him try to turn away but she held his head in place and stared right into his eyes.

"Finn is wrong and everything you heard me say to him is true." He just looked back at her. What she didn't know was that Finn was right. At least about one thing. If this went any further, hell if it even stayed a friendship, he would end up hurting her… When she found out about the baby…

"Believe me Noah!!" she begged, the tears coming now ones of desperation. "Please!"

Every tear rolling down her face, cut at his heart and through strength of will he pushed the thought that he would hurt her aside. His arms slowly came around her and he began hugging her gently, but the hug quickly got tighter and soon he was crying once again on her shoulder. Crying that even though she was there for him now, even though she had stood up for him… he would one day make Finn's words come true.

"I don't deserve you," he managed to get out. She just gave him an extra tight squeeze to let him know what she thought of that.

"I will always be there for you Noah and not just because you were there for me," she said but didn't expand as to exactly why she would always be there. His tears left fairly quickly. It was the second time he had cried that day. He knew Rachel might think she knew why he had cried this time, but she had no idea. He made up his mind to bury the fact that it was his baby. If Quinn would never tell, he would never tell and Rachel would never be hurt and she would never leave him. He let her go and scrubbed at his face.

"Are you ok Noah?" she asked worriedly. He took her hand, she had backed away to get a good look at him but he pulled her closer.

"Thank you Rachel. For forgiving me, for standing up for me, for…" She just smiled.

"You're welcome Noah." He looked at her with the tiniest smirk on his face.

"You want to romp around naked with me?" Her grin just widened, happy he had cracked a joke.

"I was angry," she said shrugging. His smirk widened a little.

"Whatever Berry you know you can't resist the stud." She laughed once and pulled him out of the classroom.

"Whatever you say Noah," she replied knowing that he was hiding how upset he still was but also knowing he was on his way to feeling normal.

"There you are," they heard Kurt say. They turned around to see everyone but Quinn there. Puck scrubbed at his face again self consciously. Rachel just smiled at all of them.

"Is everything ok?" asked Matt.

"Yeah," said Puck with a smile towards Rachel. "I think it is." Rachel smiled at all of their friends, meeting everyone's eyes to try and thank them. She frowned when she reached Mike. He still looked pretty angry.

"Mike what's wrong?"

"Matt wouldn't let me punch him," he grumbled. Rachel giggled and Puck rolled his eyes, but everyone knew they were thanking Mike. Puck looked down at Rachel.

"I need to get home," he said. "Do you want to come?" She nodded.

"I'm still not too fond of the idea of being by myself in my house. Plus I can look at your hand closer." Puck nodded before turning and walking down the hallway. Rachel waved at her friends, mouthed a 'thank you', and ran after Puck. He put an arm around her shoulders and she moved closer to him. Kurt and Mercedes exchanged glances and smiles.

"Ten bucks says their dating before the end of the week," said Mercedes. Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"It won't take them two days," he said confidently.

"I-I think both of you are w-wrong," said Tina. "Y-you really think Rachel w-will jump into that r-relationship without t-thinking about it f-first? I-I think she's a-already t-trying to keep herself f-from falling for h-him too fast."

"Oh honey she's already fallen and she's fallen so far she's hit the floor," said Kurt waving his hand. "She's in love with him."

Everyone looked down the hallway where Rachel and Puck had gone down pondering Kurt's confident words. Was she really in love?

* * *

Ok first off READ THIS BEFORE YOU FLAME ME FOR WRITING FINN THIS WAY!!!!! In my view Finn is very selfish. He has Quinn but he really likes it that Rachel fawns over him and does things for him everything. Therefore when he sees Puck "moving in on his territory" he gets upset. Besides did you see the evil look he gave Puck when he was singing 'Sweet Caroline?' That in itself should be proof he could react like this. Also I liked how Mike creeped into this chapter. As I have said before I love Mike so it was nice to see him asserting himself in my mind (don't judge all my characters fight in my head to see who will get to speak maybe its weird but that's how I work) well they're not really my characters but you know what I mean... ANYWAY I hope you liked the chapter oh also Wednesday's and Friday's I only have one class (which is why you got an upload today) just so you guys know


	13. Chapter 12

Well this would have been uploaded earlier but once again Fanfiction is being a bitch and not uploading my document even though its the same document that every single other one of my chapters came from. -.- I just copied and pasted this into another document I had in my Document Manager so it has the wrong name now and it bothers me. Stupid Fanfiction. -.- Anyway I didn't upload yesterday because all of my inspiration was directed towards chapters coming in the near future. Including one really big drama moment that I didn't have planned until a review came in. I forget who it was but they know what I'm talking about.

Anyway speaking about reviews I'm officially over 200. I don't think I have time to do anything for that person but I'm putting their name and the person who had the 100th review here just so they can feel special (even though all of my reviewers are special haha) So congrats to Lei-C for having the 100th reveiw and tlw13 for having the 200th review.

More Puck and Rachel together in this chapter. Enjoy!!

* * *

The ride to Puck's house was quiet for a while. She was holding his injured hand gently.

"No one's ever stood up for me before," he said softly. She looked up at him and smiled.

"I had no reason not to."

"Yes you did." Rachel rolled her eyes and poked him.

"Are you going to listen or just talk down to yourself?"

He shrugged so she continued.

"The only reason, _only_ reason I flinched away from you, was because I flashed back to that day. Before you were even out the door I realized what I had done. I was crying because I was so upset…" She paused trying to push the tears away. "So upset for making you think… that I was scared of you."

By this time they were at his house. He made sure he was parked before pulling her closer to him.

"That after everything you had done for me by damn brain couldn't even see the difference between you and the hockey players." She took his injured hand tenderly. A tear fell onto it. He pulled her out of the truck and into the house before wiping her tears away. For her to be cursing, he knew she had to be really upset.

"It's all my fault," she said. "If I hadn't… then you wouldn't have punched the mirror and Finn wouldn't have…" He kept wiping away her tears.

"No. That's not true. Finn would have exploded at some point anyway. Or tried to get you away from me using the same argument. It is not your fault Rachel. I was stupid enough to not recognize you, your voice, or your touch. It is not your fault that you flashed back. It isn't," he insisted. Her tears began to slow. Then she nodded.

"I guess you're right Noah." He smiled.

"Of course I am," he said playfully. She just rolled her eyes.

"Does your mother have a first aid kit somewhere?"

"I think there's one in the kitchen and the bathroom." They were closer to the kitchen so she pulled him in there and made him sit down before looking around for the kit. When she found it she went back over to him and slowly pulled off the paper towels. He winced slightly. The blood had dried to the paper towels so pulling it off opened the cuts again. She bit her lip.

"I'm sorry Noah."

"It's fine."

"This may not be," she said taking his hand and pulling him over to the sink.

"What may not be?" he asked before she poured what he belatedly realized was the sterilizing alcohol. He let out a short exclamation of pain.

"Dammit Rachel!!" he yelled shaking his hand, trying to make the burning go away. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to do that?!"

"I had to sterilize your hand," she said softly. He stopped and ran his uninjured hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry for yelling, but you could have told me first."

"I'm sorry Noah," she said sincerely. "But I was afraid you wouldn't want me to or wouldn't let me, and I can't let it get infected. I don't want to see you hurt anymore."

"Then you shouldn't of poured alcohol on my hand," he replied but the smile on his face told her he wasn't being cruel.

"Come here. I need to make sure there's no glass in the cuts before I wrap them up." He moved back over to her, giving her his hand. She gently inspected the cuts. He felt his stomach flutter slightly as her gentle fingers moved around his skin, feather light. Dammit!! He _was_ turning into a girl! All this shit should have gone away once he was around boys and had beaten up some of the hockey team. He groaned. Why did she have the power to turn him into a pussy? That totally wasn't fair at all. Her hands pulled away slightly.

"Did I hurt you?" she asked concerned.

"What? Oh, no you didn't. I was just thinking about something." She nodded but seemed not to completely believe him.

"Well the good news is I don't see any glass. All that's left is to wrap it, but you have to keep from using it too much. Especially once it dries soon. You don't want it to open again." While she was speaking she had been digging in the medical kit. She took a piece of larger gauze and placed it over the cuts, before taking some of the smaller gauze that was in a roll and wrapping it loosely around his hand. When she was satisfied with the wrapping, she cut it and taped it down.

"Thanks Rachel," he said but before he had finished saying that she had pressed a kiss to the injured hand. "What was that for?" he asked confused.

"To make it feel better," she said with a small smile before turning to pack up the first aid kit. He just stared at her for a moment, before a smile spread across his face. Then it turned into a smirk.

"Does this mean no more beating up hockey team pansies?"

"Yes Noah," she said rolling her eyes but with a good natured smile on her face.

"What if I just use this hand?" he said raising his uninjured hand. She raised an eyebrow.

"I find it hard to believe you could win a fight with just one hand."

"You're doubting the Puck? You've seen my guns." She rolled her eyes again but giggled slightly.

"So why did you need to come home?"

"I have to have dinner ready for when my sis comes home from the babysitters," he said looking away awkwardly.

"Noah you already know how I feel about you cooking. You shouldn't be ashamed." He just nodded.

"So what are we going to do until then?" she asked.

"We could go up to my room." She choked slightly. He rolled his eyes.

"Yes Berry I'm going to take you up to my room just to throw you onto my bed and ravage you until the sun comes up because I know you secretly want it," he said sarcastically. Despite knowing he was joking, she still felt a quick wave of heat flow through her body. She shook her head. Those were not appropriate actions towards a friend. Was he a friend? That got her sidetracked into another whole line of thinking.

"Ha!" she said, pulling herself out of her thoughts. "You used 'ravage' correctly." He groaned and started to climb the stairs.

"Just come on. We can listen to music or something," he grumbled. She followed him up the stairs. He led her to his room before jumping onto his bed.

"The computer's over there. Just pick what you want." She nodded looking around his room. It wasn't as messy as she expected but it wasn't as clean as hers either. It was a pretty nice room. She walked over to the computer but was side tracked by a familiar piece of paper sitting next to it.

"Noah… What's this?" she asked, her eyes wide. He groaned and sat up.

"It's a computer. You…" He trailed off as he saw what she was pointing to. "Nothing," he said quickly.

"Noah that is definitely not nothing. It looks like…" He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"It is," he admitted. "I pulled it out of the trash after everyone had left but I haven't had the time to look at it," he finished gruffly looking away. Rachel knew that he was lying about not having time to read it. If she was correct, he had been afraid to read it, probably out of guilt for not telling her he didn't throw the slushy, and that it held something that would make him feel more guilty. She picked it up and held it out to him.

"Read it Noah," she said with a smile. He lay on his bed for a moment before slowly getting up and walking over to her. He cautiously took it from her and after a pause, he finally uncrumpled the piece of paper he had plucked out of the trash two days ago. It was a list. Numbered in her neat handwriting.

1. Find Noah at his locker or in the hallways.

2. Stop him.

3. Explain that you realize that you were wrong about many assumptions you had made about him on the bleachers.

4. Apologize for those assumptions.

5. Offer to be friends again.

Then there was a little bullet at the bottom of the page.

If baby comes up be discrete and quieter than you normally are. Don't need any more gossip.

He looked up at her. She could see the guilt in his eyes.

"You were going to apologize?" She nodded.

"It was your last comment that really clued me into how wrong I was. I'm pretty sure you were just upset about some things I had said to say that we couldn't be friends. Of course I could be wrong again." He just shook his head.

"You're right… I should have followed you that day… after the slushy. Told you the truth." She moved closer to him and took his hand.

"Like I said earlier, I wouldn't have believed that you didn't throw the slushy. It was in your hand but more than that… you laughed." He winced.

"I was so caught up in what people think of me…"

"It's ok."

"No. It's not," he said firmly and he flashed back to the day in the bathroom when he had been apologizing for slushieing her. He had so much to make up to her. He had hurt her for so long…

"What happened has really changed what I care about. I don't care if we walk down the hallways hand in hand. I don't care if anyone sees me hugging you. No way was I letting what they thought of me get in the way of helping you." Rachel smiled.

"Is it going to stay like that?"

"If you still want to be friends yeah," he said though hesitantly, still not sure if she wanted to be friends. She just shook her head at him.

"You really think I wouldn't? Even if this hadn't happened, if I had found out you hadn't thrown the slushy, the offer of friends would have been there. For you to take if you wanted." He gave her a quick hug.

"Thanks Rachel." She just smiled.

"I can't believe you took it out of the trash."

"I can't believe you sat down and made a list of exactly what you were going to do," he said waving the paper in her face playfully. She pouted.

"A well thought out plan is essential if my goals are going to be accomplished." He just laughed.

"Babe sometimes you just have to wing it," he said laughing before he realized what he had called her. He swore under his breath looking away.

"I'm sorry Rachel. I shouldn't…" He trailed off as he looked back at her. Her eyes seemed far away.

"Rachel!" he said firmly, taking her shoulders. Her eyes quickly focused on him.

"Where did you go?" he asked, his voice strong, though the worry in his eyes was apparent.

"Some of them called me 'babe'…" she said softly. He flinched, his hands letting go of her as fast as they could and he looked away. He never should have called her that in the first place. It was what he ended up calling all his lays. Rachel wasn't one of those and she never would be. He cursed himself for ever getting into the habit of calling a girl 'babe.'

"Noah…" He felt her hand touch his cheek. He just kept his head looking away from her. She moved so she was in his line of sight.

"Noah do you remember what you said to me a little while ago? You said that me flashing back wasn't my fault."

"Because it's mine," he said trying not to meet her eyes.

"No," she said firmly. "Flashing back is their fault. It's their fault for doing this to me in the first place. For making me flashback at the innocent slip of the tongue. For making my friend think stupidly it's his fault." His eyes flashed to hers ready to tell her he wasn't stupid and that it was his fault but the words left him seeing the caring in her eyes.

"Their fault Noah. I want you to say it. And I want you to mean it when you say it. No more of this guilty stuff if I ever flashback again. Say it." He just looked at her. He was pretty sure victims flashing back was normal, but he wasn't sure how he felt about it not being his fault. If he hadn't called her 'babe' it wouldn't have happened.

_But something else completely different not related to you could have done it later, _said a rational voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Rachel. He groaned mentally. His conscience sounded like her now. But he had to admit that it was true. If he hadn't caused her to flashback then, she would still have flashbacks' caused by other things. He realized she was starting to get worried, he had been silent for a while.

"All of your flashbacks are their fault, even if caused by me," he said. She smiled widely before moving her hand off his cheek to hug him.

"Thank you Noah."

"Go put on some music," he said heading back to sit on his bed. She smiled and did what he asked, just putting his music library on shuffle. She came back and sat next to him. And they just sat there listening to music, no conversation really needed between them. They sat back and thought about everything had happened, each of them not knowing the other was thinking about them.

* * *

I'm not too sure what to do after this. I know logically I should have his mom and sis introduced but I'm really not comfortable making up names for them when they didn't have ones in the show. I'm sure they do but idk I guess its one of my little quirks. So I'm probably going to time skip and flashback to the meetings and find a way around the name things. I'm not timeskipping too far probably just to after dinner and everything's been explained. Oh in the next chapter things get bad. On their way to getting a whole lot worse. Plus some more Mike ;) Probably won't take me too long to get it posted. You'll probably see it tomorrow at some point. Hope you guys liked the chapter!!!


	14. Chapter 13

Ok so I was watching Vitamin D last night. When the girls are getting their decongestants from Terri, at the back of the line next to Brittany is a random brunette Cheerio. WTF? Also its impossible for me to watch Mark Salling (Puck) sing 'Sweet Caroline' in Mash-Up without getting this huge smile on my face. Heehee.

Anyway, I decided to do the mini time skip but it is not because of the name thing. I decided just to skip it and go over it here rather than write it out and take up space. Ok so here's what happened in the time skip. They got home after 4 around 4:30. All the talking in the last chapter took about half an hour. They listened to music for another half an hour before they went down and he got dinner ready. His mom and sister showed up around 6. They ate at 6:15 before talking for a while. Then from 6:30 to 8 they watched tv together still talking slightly. I must stress that the time skip was done for pacing reasons. Plus I wanted them to get to the next day of school. Also the angst won't go away. Hope you guys like it!!!

* * *

Last time:

"Go put on some music," he said heading back to sit on his bed. She smiled and did what he asked, just putting his music library on shuffle. She came back and sat next to him. And they just sat there listening to music, no conversation really needed between them. They sat back and thought about everything had happened, each of them not knowing the other was thinking about them.

* * *

**A few hours later:**

Noah groaned as they walked back up the stairs to his room.

"You had to tell her you were Jewish didn't you? Now she's going to nag me to ask you back out again and when we're going to get married."

"She wouldn't do that Noah. You're overreacting."

He leveled a glance at her. "Berry. My mother is in love with you. Plus she's been on me for forever to date a Jewish girl."

"I don't think that's that bad of a request." He snorted.

"Yeah you would think." Rachel frowned at the bitterness hidden in his voice.

"Noah what-"

"It's nothing," he said throwing himself on his bed. She followed him, sitting next to him.

"It is not nothing. That's the first time you have interrupted me since I tried to say 'I'm sorry' that day. Something is wrong and you're going to tell me what." He growled glaring at her.

"Just drop it Berry." Her eyes flashed.

"No." For him to be this rough, it must be something bad, and she was not going to sit back and let him push her away. He laughed once. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up slightly. He stood up and leveled a hard gaze at her. He was aware of a part of himself yelling and screaming at him to stop but the words came out anyway.

"My mother called me a Nazi and asked why couldn't I date a nice Jewish girl." He could see the shock on her face and he continued before she could speak, a nasty sneer growing on his face

"That night I had a dream about you. That you climbed up the side of my house into my room in just a white dress and your Star of David necklace. You know why I asked you out? Because I saw it as a sign to get into your hot Jewish pants." He saw the hurt flood across her face and that part of him kept yelling at him, straining at his muscles to go over to her and apologize. He just crossed his arms looking at her.

"You're hurt and guess what? It's your fault. This is what happens when you try and dig at me." She slowly stood up and walked towards him. He could feel her eyes searching his face, but he refused to meet them. Then she did the one thing he didn't expect. She slid her arms around him and hugged him. That other part of himself completely pushed itself forward and his arms came around her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he repeated over and over again. She pulled away clearly relieved that this was how he reacted.

"It's my fault. I should know by now not to push you when you don't want to talk about something. I'm just glad what I was thinking worked." He chuckled pulling away slightly from the hug.

"You mean Miss Rachel Berry who came up with a 5 step plan to apologize to me, just winged it?"

A smile spread across her face. "Isn't that what you told me to do?" He laughed again before his face fell.

"I am sorry. I shouldn't have said those things." She shook her head.

"I was a fool to believe that you would have started the relationship under any other circumstances. But I don't think that you felt the same by the end." He didn't say anything but she took his silence to be a confirmation. She went over and sat on his bed and he followed her.

"Do you want to talk about your mom?" she asked him softly.

"We were watching Schindler's List," he sighed. "And at one point she turned to me and said 'You're no better than them Noah. Why can't you date a Jewish girl?'" Rachel took his hand and squeezed it slightly.

"She's wrong," she said with a smile. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious Noah. You are lightyears better than them. You want to know why?" His eyes flickered to hers. She smiled.

"A Nazi would have left me there." Her smile widened when she saw the light in his eyes.

"Thanks Rachel," he said before he let loose a yawn. She frowned.

"Do you want to go to bed?"

"That would be nice," he said taking a look at the clock. It was around 8. "On second thought never mind it's too early."

"Why did you yawn then?" she asked.

"I didn't sleep too well last night. Plus I was rudely awakened at 6:30. I never get up that early." She looked down.

"Sorry Noah."

"Hey it was my choice to sleep on the floor," he said getting up and looking through his drawers. He pulled out a large shirt. It was clear it would be big on him. He threw it to her.

"None of my boxers or sweatpants are going to stay up on you. This should be long enough."

"I'm sleeping here?" she asked shocked. He shrugged.

"You didn't tell my mom what happened but she's not stupid. I told her something bad happened and I'm not putting the moves on you. That's enough for her to realize what happened or almost happened. She won't have a problem with you staying. She knows I'm not that big of an ass."

Rachel frowned. He rolled his eyes.

"Come on Rachel it was one little curse word. Lighten up a bit."

"How many girls have you had here?" she asked, her voice subdued. His face hardened.

"You don't want to know," he said gruffly, grabbing for a pair of sweats and boxers. "I'm taking a shower." He walked out of the room, leaving Rachel alone. Why did it matter so much to her about how many women he had been with? And why did his answer hurt so much? She groaned and slid to the floor as she realized her feelings had been heading past platonic. She knew this would happen. She _knew_ it would so why did her shields she put up not work? It was inappropriate to feel like that towards Noah over him saving her. If she felt love towards him, it was love for what he did not him and if she acted on that love she felt, she knew she would end up hurting both of them. She berated herself for allowing those feelings to come through. She never should have asked that question. It was his business and it had nothing to do with her. They were friends. Friends. She kept repeating that in her mind.

"Honey are you ok?" Rachel looked up to see Noah's mother in the doorway.

"Oh yes Mrs. Puckerman. I'm fine."

"Where's Noah?" she asked looking around.

"Taking a shower," replied Rachel standing up and looking towards the clock. "It… oh… He's been in there for almost half an hour," she said puzzled. She hadn't realized how deep in her thoughts she had been. His mother frowned.

"I'll go get him," she said with a smile before spotting the shirt in her hands. "And don't worry about staying tonight," she said realizing that Noah must have given it to her. "You're welcome here any time dear." Rachel smiled slightly.

"Thank you Mrs. Puckerman." The woman smiled back before walking down the hallway. Rachel heard her banging on a door and then the low grumble of Noah's voice. She realized she must have gotten Noah very upset for him to stay away that long. She bit her lip. How did he always end up hurting when he was around her? She heard him walk in and she looked over to him. Her mind immediately went blank. He wasn't wearing a shirt. She could even see the glisten of a few water drops that he had missed. She tore her eyes away, angry and embarrassed she had been ogling.

"I'm sorry Noah."

"What for looking? Seriously Rachel it doesn't bother me. Just means I am the stud I know I am," he said chuckling slightly.

"I mean about the question. I shouldn't have asked you that. It was personal and I shouldn't have," she said turning her eyes back to him, keeping them on his face.

"Rachel I'm not angry about that," he said frowning.

"You were in the shower for 30 minutes," she said not believing him. He sighed. He had been lost in thought in the shower. He _was_ angry but he was angry at himself. For bringing up other girls around her. Of course he had assumed that her quietness when asking the question was disappointment in him but he didn't want her thinking about the other girls he had been with. Especially when he only wanted to be with her. Which got him even more pissed because she didn't need that right now and she had made clear on the bleachers she liked Finn. He refused to let when she stood for him against Finn change his mind. She was still clinging to him. He was still protecting her. She wouldn't let anyone try to destroy her protection. But the moment that she was all better she would go back to chasing Finn and developing feelings for her would only make him feel like shit when that time came. Plus he was a badass. And badass's don't 'develop feelings.' He had hit his head against the tiles of the shower trying to knock some sense into himself. By the time his mom had knocked on the door, he had calmed down considerably and had all the mushy stuff locked up and forgotten. Of course that went out the window when he went back to his room and Rachel just kind of stared at him for a little bit. The questions came back and he angrily pushed them back into the cage he was trying to keep them in. She was a teenage girl and teenage girls have hormones. Nothing more nothing less.

"I was thinking," he said. She sighed and let it go. He was glad too. Everything was becoming more and more difficult around her. He glanced at the clock.

"Screw it," he said and flopped into bed.

"Am I allowed to go change in the bathroom?" she asked him. He rolled his eyes.

"No Berry. I'm keeping you here where I expect you to change." He heard her muffle a laugh before he heard her walk down the hall. She was back quickly and when he rolled over to look at her, he felt the muscles in his lower stomach clench. His shirt was huge on her and stopped at mid thigh but it was _so_ hot. She was tugging at the hem trying to make it go lower.

"It's fine Rach," he said. She nodded but he still saw her discretely trying to pull it down.

"Why is it any different than the skirts you always wear?" he asked.

"Because I'm usually not about to go to sleep in a boy's bedroom with his shirt on." He rolled his eyes.

"I'm not going to try anything."

"I know," she said. There was silence for a minute before she slowly sat down on the floor.

"Whoa whoa what are you doing?" he asked propping himself up on his elbow.

"Going to sleep?" she said confused.

"Nuh uh. Get in bed now." The red flamed across her cheeks despite her best efforts to stop it.

"Noah…"

"I'm not letting you sleep on the floor and I don't really want to do it again," he said stubbornly. She sighed before approaching the bed. She climbed in and lay right on the edge opposite him. He sighed before reaching over, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her against him. He heard her squeak and tense up.

"Relax Rach," he said before a yawn erupted from him. "Go to sleep." He felt her slowly relax and as she the tiredness washed over her, she snuggled closer to him, feeling his chest against her back. Puck felt himself smirk as she probably had no idea that she had moved closer to him and her breath finally evening out told him that was exactly the case.

"Night Rach," he whispered before quickly following her into sleep.

About halfway through the night, he was woken up by her movements. She was struggling slightly. He sat up and saw her face was tense.

"Shhh Rach. I'm here. You're ok," he said softly. Slowly her movements stopped and a small smile appeared on her face. He smiled and lay back down before falling back asleep.

They both woke up when his mother knocked on the door.

"Noah I'm leaving. I'm dropping your sister off at school too. So don't worry about it."

"Thanks," he called before rolling out of bed groaning. He turned to look at her, she was rubbing her eyes yawning.

"You had a nightmare last night," he said and there wasn't a question in his voice. She looked down at her hands.

"Yes."

"About what?"

"What do you think Noah?" she asked wearily. "How did you even know?"

"You woke me up," he said. "Moving around. You weren't making any noises but you were all tense and everything."

"You talked to me didn't you?" she said.

"Yeah." She smiled.

"Thank you Noah." He shrugged before pulling out clothes for their day at school.

"Can we stop by my house so I can shower and change?" she asked picking up her clothes and heading for the door.

"Yeah sure," he replied. While they were changing, she in the bathroom, he in his bedroom, it hit them at about the same time that they had just slept together that night side by side, woken up and started chatting. Like it was normal. They both groaned realizing that once again they were letting their feelings come too much into play. They finished dressing busy pushing stuff away in their heads. When Puck left his room, he saw her come out of the bedroom.

"Ready?" he asked.

"What about breakfast?" He shrugged.

"We have apples."

"Bananas?"

"Nope," he said walking down the stairs. "I made one too many dirty jokes and Mom doesn't buy them anymore." He turned to see a horrified expression on her face and he laughed.

"Kidding Rachel. My sis doesn't like them." She hit him.

"That wasn't funny."

"Yeah, yeah," he laughed grabbing an apple and tossing it to her. She rolled her eyes but smiled and followed him out the door.

After stopping at her house, where she showered and changed while he cleaned the dirty dishes left from the day before, they arrived at school. It was later then she normally arrived, but earlier then when he did. Their causal banter had continued while they were at her house and through the car rides. Both of them thought, it might be a little too casual and the other might pick up on something but neither did so they eventually relaxed. As they walked towards her locker, most of the people that were there were giving them a wide berth. He smirked.

"Looks like everyone heard what I did to Karofsky yesterday." She gave him a stern look.

"Hey look on the bright side. If everyone's scared and avoiding me, you're in the clear." A small smile appeared on Rachel's face. Kurt, Tina, Mercedes, and Artie appeared next to them.

"Whatever you did to Karofsky has spread through the school," said Kurt excitedly.

"I saw a hockey player walking towards me but when he recognized me he turned and ran away," said Artie. Puck raised an eyebrow.

"Are they laying off all the Glee kids?" asked Rachel.

"Looks like it," said Mercedes. They reached Puck's locker and every one peeled off towards their classes. Puck grabbed his things quickly before taking Rachel to her first class.

"Remember to stay here until I come," he said to her. "They may be scared but I'm not taking any chances." She just nodded. The first class went pretty quick and Puck showed up about a minute after the bell had rang. They walked back to his locker. There were whispers all over the hallway but Puck ignored them. He looked down and saw that Rachel heard them too but he just nudged her slightly and shook his head.

"Don't let yourself listen to them." He reached his locker and began messing around with the stuff inside. Rachel looked up to see Mr. Schue making his way towards them. Just the way he looked, she had a really bad feeling lodge itself in her stomach. She reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing fairly tight. He turned around immediately.

"What is it?" he growled looking for a hockey player but when he saw Mr. Schue he realized what was going on. He hoped it wasn't the case but… He pulled out his cell phone and sent off a message to Mike. _911. Get Matt. My locker NOW._ While he had done that Rachel had moved closer to him, wrapping an arm around his waist. He looked down at her. He could see clearly that she was confused but could tell something was wrong. Mr. Schue slowed as he got close and just looked at them. He knew that Puck knew what was happening and Rachel didn't, but she was scared.

"You're going to have to come with me Puck," said Mr. Schue finally.

"Why?" demanded Rachel, her grip tightening on him slightly. Mr. Schue's eyes didn't leave Puck.

"I know why you did it… but you can't-"

"No!" said Rachel, her voice raising slightly as she realized why their teacher was here. "You can't." Puck put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Rachel…" said Mr. Schue. "It's not up to me. The school has clear rules." She just shook her head.

"Please Mr. Schue. He only did it for me. Because of what happened and what he said. Please!" She was outright begging and it tore at both Puck and Mr. Schue's hearts.

"I'm sorry Rachel…" offered their teacher. She could feel herself begin to lose it. The tears were coming and the fear she was beginning to feel was about to swallow her. How could she survive school without Noah? Puck heard footsteps quickly approaching, he looked over to see Mike and Matt there. Artie had somehow got the message and was there too. Tina was hovering slightly behind Artie. Just seeing the situation they all seemed to know. Mike turned and punched a locker. Tina and Artie exchanged a look and Puck knew they were somehow communicating through that look. Matt just looked livid.

"He snitched," he growled. Puck nodded once before turning his attention to Rachel, who was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Rachel look at me."

"They can't take you away," she said tugging on his shirt. "I can't do this alone."

"You're not alone. Mike, Matt, Artie, all of your friends are going to be there."

She just shook her head. "I can't do it without you."

"Yes you can," he said moving her so she was right in front of him. "You're strong Rach. You're stronger than you know." She just moved closer to him, burying her head in his chest. He looked up at Mike and Matt.

"At least one of you two with her all times. No offense Wheels." Artie just smiled showing he understood and the football players nodded.

"You're gonna be ok Rachel," he said pulling her away from him slightly. He hesitated for a split second before brushing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I promise." She started to cry softly but nodded her head. He gently pulled her arms off of him and Mike was there to take her in his arms, where she continued crying. Puck knew he must be feeling jealous somewhere in his body that Mike was comforting her and not him, but all he could feel was sadness that he wouldn't be there for her. He looked to Mr. Schue and just nodded. He followed his teacher towards the principal's office. It was silent between them, and when they passed by students all the conversations seemed to stop as they watched them walk by. He was aware of walking past Kurt who just looked at him passing wide eyed before running off in the direction Puck had come from. He walked past Brittany and Santana. Brittany looked confused and whispered something to Santana who whispered something back. Something the Latina had said must have made Brittany angry because she started whisper yelling at Santana. He stored that away to ask Brittany what happened later. At the moment he could barely bring himself to care. Then they were at Figgins' office. He stood in front of the desk. Figgins motioned for him to sit down.

"Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsberry have informed me about what happened two days ago," said Figgins, breaking the long silence that Puck had been in. Puck's eyes narrowed slightly but he didn't say anything.

"And I must ask you why you didn't report this." Puck's eyes narrowed further.

"Why doesn't Rachel report any of the things people do to her? Nothing will be done."

"But in this situation-"

"Rachel didn't want to report it because she didn't want to have to face them, relive what happened, and watch them walk away without getting in trouble. And Schue can tell you how upset she is that out of everyone I'm the one getting punished." He could see Mr. Schue wince slightly out of the corner of his eye before he spoke.

"You know that's not what it is Puck."

"It's what it looks like."

"You could have killed him," said Mr. Schue softly.

"Yes. I would have," replied Puck, his jaw clenched. "But you apparently still don't realize what Rachel's gone through. What you saw when you came to take me here was tiny compared to how upset she's been. Did you know right after it happened I took her to the choir room and when Matt and Mike came in she freaked out? She didn't even know it was them, the letterman jackets were all she could see. If you brought me here to get an apology save your breath. Just tell me my punishment and let me leave."

The two adults were silent for a moment.

"Well since its obvious you know why you are here," started Figgens but Puck interrupted him.

"I beat up Karofsky for what happened 2 days ago and what he said right before I kicked his ass."

He saw both Figgins and Mr. Schue frown. It was possible it was at the language he was using, but he thought it was more that they didn't know what Karofsky had said.

"What did he say Puck?" asked Mr. Schue. Puck laughed, but it was a sarcastic laugh.

"He wanted us to turn Rachel over to him. All of us said no."

"Us?" demanded Figgins. Puck ignored him.

"He then said 'I get it you're all sweet on her. Is she that big of a whore that she got hot when you raped her? Did she let all of you gang bang' and that's as far as he got." Figgins jaw dropped and Puck heard Mr. Schue mutter something into his hand that sounded suspiciously like 'fuck'.

"I see," said Figgins clearing his throat. "While an attack of this magnitude would normally merit an expulsion, the circumstances surrounding this case had pushed that off the table before this conversation began. Miss Pillsberry has urged me not to punish you at all." Puck raised an eyebrow at this.

"However, fighting is against the rules, and no matter how much people want that to not be true in this case, it is. I'm afraid I will have to suspend you for 5 school days."

Puck's stomach fell. "You can't," he said, his mouth dry. "Not that long."

"I am sorry Mr. Puckerman. But you should feel lucky. And please tell Miss Berry that if anything more should happen to her no matter how minor to report it. After what has happened I will be taking a rather harsh view on anyone doing anything more to her," said Figgins. Puck didn't say anything but just stood up and left. He heard Mr. Schue following him.

"Puck. Slow down."

"No."

"Puck it's not that bad." Puck stopped and turned around. Mr. Schue was startled to see more fear than anger in his eyes.

"Yes it is. How am I supposed to tell her? Tell her I'm going to be gone for five days? The only reason the hockey team is keeping its distance today is cause they're scared shitless of me. How long will that last once they realize I'm gone? A day? Not even that! The entire Glee club is at risk because they're protecting Rachel. She's going to get hurt again…" He closed his eyes.

"Puck. Figgins just couldn't let you slide. You said you would have killed him-"

"Don't even start on that Schue," said Puck opening his eyes again. "You're going to tell me that I should have turned the other cheek or that you're disappointed in me because that's not what you would do."

"I would have done the exact same thing." Puck froze for a second looking at him shocked. "But Figgins is putting his head out for you here. This school could get in serious trouble. You should be expelled."

"I really can't bring myself to care right now. I will keep her locked in my room before I let her get hurt again," he snapped before whirling around and storming down the halls. He didn't realize that Artie had rolled in front of him before he almost slammed into him.

"How long?" Artie said simply.

"5 days," muttered Puck. Artie's eyes widened.

"They can't-"

"They did. Saying I should be lucky I wasn't expelled. No way this is lucky."

"You need to tell her." Puck's eyes flashed with fear.

"No I can't. I can't see her break down after I tell her that…"

"She's going to find out with or without you," said Artie. Puck didn't say anything and after a pause Artie began rolling towards the choir room.

"Come on Puck." Puck just followed him, his feet dragging and his head down, dreading what he would have to do.

* * *

So you know how I said things were going to get bad on their way to worse? This is just the bad part haha. The worse part is yet to come. But don't worry the worse part has nothing to do with Rachel. Don't know if that will calm you down or freak you out more. I think this is the longest chapter yet. Also enjoy the looks into Rachel and Puck's minds. I have a good time writing those but I'm always extremely careful to keep them in character. Hope you guys liked the chapter!!! Oh absolutely none of the next chapter is written so be patient with me. I have no idea when I'll be done. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!


	15. Chapter 14

So I'm quite impressed I was able to get this out today. Today's my busy day but after I was done I sat down and was able to finish this chapter. It doesn't look as deep into Rachel and Puck's minds as last time but its still there a little bit. (If only because fighting their growing feelings is becoming more and more difficult as the minutes tick by haha) Oh just so you guys know this is a Thursday the day in the story. I figured it out from the timeline I gave myself in the earlier part of the story. I hope you guys like this chapter!!

* * *

It wasn't long before Puck realized they were nearing the choir room. His feet began to slow. Artie slowed as well looking over his shoulder.

"She needs to hear it from you." Puck didn't say anything but continued following him. Artie pushed open the door and rolled in. Puck could hear quiet conversation that stopped as he walked in.

"Noah?" came her whispered voice. He looked up to see her slowly walking towards him, her face still stained with tears. He could see the damp spot on Mike's shirt. Puck even spotted Brittany sitting there with the rest of them. Quinn, Finn, and Santana weren't there. He took two big steps and pulled her into a huge hug, trying to gather the strength to tell her. Everyone exchanged worried glances. Artie wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.

"They didn't expel me," said Puck gruffly, his voice hard but scared at the same time. Some of the tension left the people watching them. "But they did suspend me." He heard her whimper while others exploded with comments some of anger, 'That's bullshit!!' from Matt, others of fear, 'But the hockey team's only backed off because of him…' from Kurt. The out roar slowly died down.

"How long Noah?" she asked so softly most could only hear the whisper of her voice without the words. He felt himself twitch, not wanting to say anything. After a long pause he slowly opened his mouth.

"5 days." She let out a tortured cry and her knees gave out. He slid to the floor with her holding her as she sobbed into him. The others could only watch in stunned silence.

"Shh. You'll be ok. It's gonna be ok," he tried to comfort, fighting back tears of his own. Tina reached out for Artie's hand while she tried to wipe away the tears from watching Rachel lose the main support she had from day one. Kurt and Mercedes were hugging each other. Brittany was crying onto Mike's shoulder. Both Mike and Matt were clearly trying to look everywhere but Rachel and Puck, their eyes shinier than normal. Mr. Schue opened the door and was met with angry accusing glares. Puck slowly turned his head, anger in his glare and the meaning clear. Get the hell out. Rachel looked up, locking eyes with their teacher. He tore his gaze away and practically fled the room, the guilt overwhelming him just from looking into her eyes. Her eyes were blank, tears still falling but deep within them she was crying out. Why?... Why?

"Rachel look at me," said Puck, his voice rough like he had been crying. She slowly turned her eyes to him. Those empty eyes cut into his soul, his heart and he knew they would haunt him in his nightmares for the rest of his life.

"Do you remember my promise?" He saw the small glint of confusion.

"I swore to you that nobody would ever hurt you again remember?" The realization gleamed in her eyes and she slowly nodded. He knew their friends must be watching them but he couldn't bring himself to care. Not when she was like this.

"That promise is still there and I won't break it. I swear to you. I _swear_ to you, you won't get hurt. Like I told Schue, I will lock you in my room before I let you get hurt again." Then his eyes lit up.

"You're going to skip school tomorrow," he said and he watched her eyes light up. He knew that she couldn't skip all 5 days. He had to start pushing her to be strong without him as much as he didn't want to. But if he continued to allow her to hide behind him and let him be her strength instead of finding her own strength she would never get better.

"But what about today?" she asked. Everyone let out a tiny breath of relief. At least she was talking.

"You are going to go out there and you are going to do the best acting you've ever done before. You are going to walk through those halls confidently with your friends. The hockey team seeing you confident will think I'm still around and leave you alone."

"But they will figure it out," said Rachel biting her lip. "Everyone saw you go to the principal's and you not being around they'll put two and two together."

"With all of them that might take till the end of the day to put two and two together and get the right answer," he scoffed. A small smile edged onto her face.

"I can't believe you actually came up with that genius plan," said Kurt. Puck rolled his eyes as Rachel and he turned towards their friends.

"Whatever Beyonce I'm smarter than I look. I'm definitely smarter than the hockey team."

"Brittany's smarter than the hockey team," pointed out Kurt. That reminded Puck. He turned to Brittany.

"Why were you arguing with Santana?" he asked. "I saw when I was going to Figgins'"

"Well I didn't understand why everyone else was whispering so I asked San. But she was being a bitch," pouted Brittany.

"Said that you were getting in trouble for sticking up for 'RuPaul' because you wanted to get into her pants. So I yelled at her," she finished proudly. Everyone smiled at her for standing up to the Latina.

"What did you say?" asked Kurt excited for the scoop.

"I told her that we were all in Glee that we should be a team like the Cheerios. And that if something like what happened to Rachel happened to her, everyone would help her out even though they didn't like her. So she should be nice to Rachel." Then Brittany lowered her head.

"What's wrong girl? You did the right thing," said Mercedes.

"Well San said back that… we weren't really a part of the Glee club team because Coach Sylvester sent us to be spies but I don't want to!!" she said tears coming back to her eyes.

"I like it here. It's fun!" None of the kids could be angry at Brittany. Any anger they felt was towards the cheerleader's coach.

"It's ok Brit," said Mike rubbing her back. "We're not angry with you. Who knows, you might be able to convince Santana to stop being a bitch." Brittany smiled. Kurt pulled out a notepad and began writing something on it. He looked up to see people looking at him.

"Making a note to talk about the Cheerios as spies thing. I don't think it's the best time to discuss it." Puck stood up, pulling Rachel with him.

"Are you going to be ok?" he asked her.

"I don't know. But I'll act like I'm ok," she said with a smile.

"I'm going to hang out in my truck and I'll be there to take you home. You can do it Rachel," he said with a smile. "You're strong." And with one last hug he left the room.

"Come on honey," said Kurt standing up. "Let's get you to a bathroom and clean you up so you can go out and fool those idiots."

The rest of the day went well. Her act did wonders to fool the hockey team into thinking Puck was still around, though towards the end of the day she started to see more of them around. They hadn't completely caught on yet but they knew something was up. As she, Mike, Matt, and Brittany walked out of school, she sighed.

"They're going to know by tomorrow," she said wearily.

"But you'll be home with Puck," said Matt. "You'll be fine."

"I'm more worried about you guys," said Puck walking up to them. "The hockey team may get pissed that you guys are hiding her and protecting her. They're more likely to go after the others so I want you guys to keep an eye on them. No one alone at any time. We know the hockey team isn't afraid of getting rough." Mike raised an eyebrow.

"Wow you thought a lot about this," he said with a smirk.

"I've been sitting in my truck since 2nd period what else was I supposed to do?" replied Puck with a glare. Rachel giggled slightly, though it was apparent she was worn out.

"Come on. Let's get you home," said Puck tugging her towards his truck. Rachel waved to her friends before following him.

"Did you get bored?" she asked him as she climbed into the truck.

"Like you wouldn't believe," he groaned.

"I'm sorry," she offered.

"Eh, whatever," he said pulling out of the parking lot.

* * *

"Come on Rachel you can't keep it under the welcome mat," insisted Puck holding her spare key as they entered her house.

"What if my Dad's need it when they come home?" she asked.

"Leave a note or something. All I know is you aren't keeping it there anymore," he said pocketing it. She sighed.

"Fine, Noah. But I want that key back before you go." She smiled at him. "So what do you want to do?" He hesitated.

"Rachel, I think you should try to stay by yourself tonight." Her face fell.

"Why?"

"Because I think it would be good for you," he said. "You need to start finding your strength again. That isn't going to happen if you keep leaning on me. You'll be fine I know you will be," he said with a small smile.

"So you're just leaving me alone?" she asked her arms wrapping around her. His eyes grew hard.

"We're a phone call away. I doubt they know where you live. You'll be fine," he said a little roughly. "Call me if you need me," he said over his shoulder as he left. Rachel stood there, confused, shocked, and hurt at his words. She must have said something. She had to have said something wrong. Noah wouldn't be that mean to her. She pulled out her cell phone, thinking who she could call to if they could tell her what she did wrong. She didn't completely trust Kurt yet, plus he had been bugging her about Noah being in love with her which was completely ridiculous. She could call Mercedes but then Kurt would know all about it. They had no secrets. Mike and Matt might not be comfortable talking about feelings, while it was a stereotype she didn't want to find out if it was true or not and make them feel awkward, and Brittany would probably just be confused. She loved Brittany for standing up for her but as much as she hated to admit it, the blonde could be a little slow. That left Tina or Artie. But then again, they were probably together anyway. She decided to call Tina's phone. As it started to ring, she realized that Tina might be with Kurt and Mercedes.

"Hey Rachel, w-what's up?" said Tina.

"Is Artie with you? And Mercedes and Kurt not?" she asked.

"Y-yeah. He's h-helping me with math. Why?"

"I think I said something wrong to Noah and he's angry at me." Rachel heard the sounds of the phone being shuffled around then Tina's voice.

"Artie, Rachel n-needs help w-with something."

"Ummm ok," he said.

"Ok Rachel y-you're on speaker phone," said Tina. "Now t-tell us what happened."

"Well he brought me home, then chastised me for keeping my spare key underneath my welcome mat. Well it's not under the mat anymore. I asked him what he wanted to do but he said that I should stay by myself tonight. He's been there since it happened," started Rachel.

"I asked him why and he said that I needed to start finding my strength again and that I lean too much on him."

"Is that exactly what he said?" interrupted Artie.

"Umm he said I need to start finding my own strength and that it wouldn't happen if I kept leaning on him. Then he said I would be fine he knew I would."

"He's basically saying that he wants to see you like you were before, the 'normal' Rachel I guess," said Artie. "He's not saying that he's abandoning you, he's trying to help you." Rachel bit her lip and a silence was heard over the phones.

"Rachel," said Tina gently. "W-what did you say to him?"

"I said 'So you're just leaving me alone?'."

"And w-what did he say?" prodded Tina.

"He like clammed up and said that he was only a phone call away, that he was pretty sure the hockey team didn't know where I lived and that I would be fine. Then he said to call him if I needed anything as he left but his voice was really…"

"You insulted him," said Artie.

"Artie!" protested Tina.

"I'm telling her the truth," he retorted. "So she understands."

"You didn't h-have to say it that mean th-though," she protested.

"What he took from your question what that you seriously thought he was just going to leave you alone because he didn't want to deal with you anymore, which from what we've seen of him can't be farther from the truth. He got angry because it looked like you almost expected him to leave once you were better," explained Artie.

"But we're friends. We said so yesterday. Why would I expect my friend to leave me?" asked Rachel.

"It's a guy's mind," said Artie. "He's probably been worried you wouldn't want to have anything to do with him once you were better… or want someone else to help you get better." Rachel stiffened.

"You too?" she asked sadly. "Noah's not in love with me."

"I didn't say he was," said Artie, clearly confused.

"K-kurt right?" asked Tina.

"Yes," sighed Rachel.

"Don't w-worry about him," she said. Suddenly Rachel gasped.

"Noah was afraid I wouldn't want anything to do with him and would want Finn to help me get better."

"That's what I just said," said Artie, still confused but a hint of frustration entering his voice.

"No. Noah's scared of that happening because he's afraid he's not good enough. That he is just like his Dad. That he's a Lima Loser," she explained. She still remembered that one day when they were dating and she called him a loser, just teasing and his face had gone dark. He had told her that he wasn't his Dad and he wasn't a Lima Loser and left with her calling after him apologizing. The next day he didn't talk about it and she didn't bring it up. She knew that his dad leaving was something that bothered him tremendously. She heard Tina say a long drawn out 'oh' of understanding.

"I'm such an idiot," said Rachel.

"No you're not," said Artie.

"I need to apologize. But I can't call him. He'll shut me out."

"S-so wait until tomorrow," said Tina.

"Yeah it will give him time to cool down too. Realize he might have overreacted," said Artie.

"Thanks Tina, Artie," said Rachel.

"And Puck's right," said Artie. "You'll be fine by yourself. You found the strength to go through the day without him, you can do the night."

"M-make some popcorn and watch a m-movie," suggested Tina. Rachel smiled, feeling her eyes water at her great friends.

"Thanks guys."

"No problem," said Artie.

"S-see ya," said Tina and they hung up. As Rachel put her phone away she realized that Artie was right. She did have the strength. And Noah had known it all along. She would be able to make it through the night by herself. She went to the kitchen and started popping popcorn. She decided to just watch movies until she went to bed. She was already slightly tried even though it was only quarter past 4. She took her popcorn out to the living room and put in Mulan. She knew watching the strong girl in the movie would help reinforce her own strength. She sat down and snuggled into the couch.

She woke up around midnight. She had fallen asleep halfway through Mary Poppins at around 9:30. She stood up and left the 3 empty popcorn bags she had made throughout the night on the coffee table. She'd clean up in the morning. She staggered up to her bedroom and fell into bed… straight into a nightmare.

It was just like that day, only they seemed a lot bigger than normal and she was a lot smaller. Their crude words cut into her. Only Noah wasn't showing up. Where was he? He would save her. They all got closer and closer to her. Their hands all reached out touching her everywhere and she woke up. Her eyes wide, the tears already starting to fall. She felt the scream in the back of her throat and swallowed it down. She looked to her cell phone on the side table and barely even thinking about it, she dialed his number.

Puck groaned when his phone rang. The first number on the clock was a 2 which was way too damn late for anyone to be calling. He decided to answer it if only to bite their heads off.

"Hello," he mumbled. His heart went cold as he heard her voice. How could he have forgotten? He sat straight up in bed.

"I need you. Please," she had begged her voice cracking. He whipped off the covers, promising he'd be there in under 10 minutes before hanging up. He tried to relax himself as he threw on a shirt that it was only a nightmare. But that didn't do much to comfort him because he started thinking down another path. He had gotten angry with her and basically yelled at her. What if she had gone to bed still upset and that was what brought around the nightmare? Had he screwed up? _Again?_ He made his way quickly, but quietly through his house and out the door before starting his truck and driving as fast as could to her house. When he got to her front door it was locked but he remembered that he had her spare. He was grateful he had gone to bed in the pants he had worn that day. He quickly unlocked the door and bolted up the stairs. There she was sitting on her bed, her arms wrapped around her knees, crying. He froze for a second, feeling the burn of sadness in his heart before he moved going over and wrapping her in his arms.

"Shh. It's ok. It'll be ok," he heard himself say.

"Please stay," she begged. Her voice was so vulnerable.

"I will," he swore. "Nothing will happen to you Rachel I promise."

"Noah…" she whispered. He closed his eyes and continued to comfort her. She calmed down very quickly.

"I'm sorry Noah," she said wiping her eyes.

"I told you to call me if you needed me. It's no big deal," he replied shrugging.

"No I mean…" she said sitting up and turning on a light. "I'm sorry for implying you would just leave me alone, for implying you weren't good enough or anything. I was scared and I'm sorry." He looked at her closely before shaking his head. She always seemed to know how to read him.

"I shouldn't have snapped."

"You only did because you thought I didn't believe you," she said putting a hand on his arm. He smirked slightly. Was he that readable? But then Rachel always had been able to read him.

"You're right. I thought you didn't believe that I was your friend and would be there for you."

"I'm sorry Noah," she said, her shoulders slumped.

"How many times have you apologized now?" he asked shoving her slightly trying to make a joke. "I forgive you already." She smiled.

"Thank you Noah." He smiled back and pulled her closer to him and snuggled down under the sheets.

"Do I smell popcorn?" he asked.

"Yeah. I ate three bags since you left. And I watched Mulan, Mary Poppins, and Beauty and the Beast."

"You already watched Beauty and the Beast," he said.

"Yeah but I really like it. It's so sweet how she can see past his rough exterior to the sweet person he is inside," she said reaching over to turn the light off. He felt his eyes widen slightly. Was she talking about him? Well obviously she was talking about the movie but it was so similar to their situation. She could always see past Puck to Noah. He pushed that thought away. He was having a tough enough time trying not to care for her too much already without thinking she was comparing them to Disney characters who fell in love and got married. She snuggled up close to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He lay on his back with one hand curled around her.

"Thanks for staying Noah," she said yawning.

"It's no problem Rachel. Go to sleep," he said. She smiled and closed her eyes. She quickly fell asleep and once he was sure she was sleeping peacefully, he allowed his eyes to close as he fell asleep too.

* * *

The next morning she woke up before him. It was early but when she sat up to check the time he pulled her back down.

"Too early. Go back to sleep Rach," he said, his words all jumbled together and barely understandable. She just shook her head, smiling at him before laying back down and closing her eyes. She woke up again a few hours later. She sat up carefully and studied him. He was so peaceful when he slept. She was so lucky and grateful to have him. Her eyes widened slightly at her word choice. To have him as a friend, she corrected. Without the friend part added on the end it almost seemed like they were dating. Which they weren't and she shouldn't even be thinking about. His eyes slid open and a smirk began to spread.

"Like what you see?" She hit him playfully rolling her eyes.

"Any more nightmares?" he asked, joking aside.

"No," she replied. "Thanks."

"What was the one you had about?" he asked after a moment.

"What happened," she said looking down. "But you didn't show up to save me and it continued. I woke up before it actually…" He sat up pulling her close to him in a hug.

"I'm ok," she said but hugged him back anyway.

"Good," he said with a smile.

"Now come on let's go eat breakfast."

"It's almost 11," she pointed out.

"…Then brunch," he replied. She giggled and followed him downstairs. The rest of their day went by uneventful. They talked a little, watched some tv, and laughed at the ridiculous soap operas and infomercials that were on. At about 4 she turned to him.

"Do you think everyone's ok? You were worried yesterday about the hockey team." Before he could answer her cell phone rang. He smirked.

"I bet that's one of them calling to tell you what happened." She looked at the caller ID. It was Kurt.

"Hi Kurt," she said.

"Honey," started Kurt and Rachel's face fell at the tone of his voice. The smirk fell off of Noah's face and he moved closer to her.

"Kurt," said Rachel, a cold feeling coiling in her stomach. There was a small undertone of begging in her voice. Begging that nothing had happened.

"You really need to come over. Puck too."

"What happened?" she whispered into the phone. Noah took her phone and flipped it to speaker phone just in time for Kurt to speak.

"It was open season against Glee kids today. Artie was tied to the flag pole. Everyone got slushied at least twice but that's not the bad part." Noah knew something was wrong. Kurt was never this down. He could tell Rachel was still hoping Kurt was over dramatizing things but he didn't think so. Rachel's eyes met his, she could feel the tears trying to start in hers.

"What's the bad part Kurt?" she asked her voice trembling.

"…They got Mike alone."

* * *

I don't have much to say other than I hope you enjoyed this chapter (ending and all lol) and thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites I've gotten. Thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter 15

Hey guys! I have to say I love watching Glee episodes and just watching the background. You should do it sometime. There's some quite amusing performances at times. Quite a few times from Mike and Matt YAY! :) Well I hope you guys like this chapter!! Enjoy

* * *

**Last Time:**

_"It was open season against Glee kids today. Artie was tied to the flag pole. Everyone got slushied at least twice but that's not the bad part." Noah knew something was wrong. Kurt was never this down. He could tell Rachel was still hoping Kurt was over dramatizing things but he didn't think so. Rachel's eyes met his, she could feel the tears trying to start in hers._

_"What's the bad part Kurt?" she asked her voice trembling._

_"…They got Mike alone."_

* * *

Rachel gasped and Noah's eyes hardened.

"We're going now," he growled before closing her phone, taking her hand and pulling her down the stairs and out to his truck.

"Where is he?" he asked her, slightly roughly but she understood.

"Kurt's house."

"Directions." She quickly gave them to him. They weren't that far away. He stepped on the gas. He heard her make a small noise before she spoke.

"Try not to go too far over the speed limit," she said. Any other time he would have joked about her letting him break the rules, but the fact that she was letting him speed was saying something to the situation. When they got to Kurt's house they saw Matt outside pacing. They both jumped out of the truck and approached him.

"Matt what happened?" asked Rachel, her voice frantic.

"I couldn't look at him anymore," said Matt, his voice so acidic Rachel took half a step back. "I needed some air." Puck and Rachel exchanged looks. Matt sighed visibly trying to calm himself down.

"Come on in. I'll take you to him." He opened the front door and led them towards the back of the house. They stopped by another door. Matt just stared at it.

"What happened?" demanded Puck wanting to know what they were going to walk into.

"The hockey team got smart," said Matt, his voice low. "They didn't even touch his face. Everything's where it's going to be hidden by his clothes." He opened the door and Puck and Rachel stood frozen at what they saw. Mike was laying on the couch, his eyes dull. His torso was covered in bruises. They were focused around his rib cage and there was one big one right in the middle of his stomach. Rachel cried out and turned into Puck, trying to unsee her friend like that. Mike turned his head and smiled slightly.

"Hey I'm ok."

"You look like shit," muttered Puck. Mike laughed before wincing. Puck gently tugged Rachel closer to Mike.

"I thought I told you guys never to be alone," said Puck his voice harsh but everyone realizing that his only anger was at the hockey team.

"We weren't for almost the whole day," said Mike. "Around lunch a bunch of the hockey team came up to me and Matt. Said some really nasty things about Rachel."

"What?" demanded Puck. Mike's eyes lit up with a spark of anger as he began to speak but the dullness from the pain quickly engulfed it.

"Said that she was at home with you, letting you fuck her. That once she came back even with you around they'd find a way to get what they wanted. That the little whore should spread her legs for more than the Glee club. Matt held me back that time, even though we were both angry we couldn't see straight but he was still smart enough to know we couldn't afford someone else getting suspended. But then at the end of the day I saw the little shit who said all those things turn down a hallway by himself and I followed him." He closed his eyes momentarily, as he took a few deep breaths despite the apparent pain it was causing him to do so. Anger burned in Puck's veins and a cold look had taken over his face. All their friends that had been watching the interactions shivered at the look on his face. It looked like he was ready to kill someone. His hand tightened around Rachel's shoulders. She looked up and gently brushed her hand against his face. He felt the anger flow away to the simmer where it had been since he had found Rachel. Nobody missed the calming effect she had on him. She turned and knelt down by the sofa.

"What happened Mike?" she asked softly. He smiled at her.

"It was a trap. Didn't realize they could be that smart. Someone put me in a full nelson and they laid into me."

"Full nelson?" said Rachel confused.

"Like this," said Puck pulling Matt over and demonstrating, slipping his arms under Matt's and locking his hands behind Matt's head forcing Matt's arms up slightly.

"Do you think someone is helping them to come up with this?" said Rachel turning back to Mike.

"I doubt it," said Puck letting go of Matt. "It's a typical dirty move people who don't want to fight fair or aren't strong enough to fight fair, especially a group against one. It's not surprising they came up with it."

"They knew we were protecting the others and went after one of us," said Mike. "And I fell for it."

"It's not your fault Mike," said Rachel wanting to hug him but not wanting to hurt him. He smiled realizing that.

"Thanks Rachel," he said patting her on the head. Puck felt his stomach twist slightly in a slight bit of jealousy but he pushed that away quickly. Rachel was very upset that Mike had been hurt because of her. That wasn't true and he'd have to emphasize that later. Besides he shouldn't feel jealous at the guy who got hurt for trying to protect Rachel. She smiled at Mike and stood up looking at Puck.

"I think I need some water." Kurt stood up and led her to the kitchen. Puck followed along.

"He's going to be alright isn't he Kurt?" asked Rachel. "There's no internal bleeding or anything?" Puck frowned. He hadn't even thought of that.

"We're pretty sure there isn't. We searched the internet. He'd be in a lot more pain if there was any internal bleeding."

"But he's in so much pain…" said Rachel upset. Puck wrapped an arm around her shoulder trying to comfort her.

"It's from the ribs," said Kurt subdued. "All the pain he's feeling is from breathing. He might even have a cracked rib."

"Why don't we take him to the hospital?" asked Rachel confused.

"You can't do anything for a cracked rib Rach," said Puck. "Just take it easy. Ice every now and then. It has to heal by itself."

Rachel looked up at him slightly confused and before she could ask he continued.

"I've had a cracked rib before. Football camp during the summer a while ago." She nodded and they stood in silence.

"How did he get away?" asked Rachel. Kurt smiled.

"Tina."

"How the fuck…" said Puck dumbstruck. Rachel looked at him sharply but also was very confused.

"Tina was walking towards the choir room when she turned the corner to see them beating up on Mike. She wasn't seen so she sent a quick 911 text to everyone telling them where she was before she ran out, kicked one of them in the balls, called them all pansies and ass wipes, and ran away. They all ran after her leaving Mike alone."

"How'd she lose them?" asked Puck. Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"We've been dodging you guys for years. We have our secrets." Puck felt himself wince slightly. Rachel rubbed his back comfortingly.

"Let's go back to Mike," she said and all three of them went back to the living room where Mike was. When they walked back in they saw Brittany sitting by the couch. She was fidgeting slightly.

"I told you Brit. I'll be fine," said Mike. "Stop worrying."

"Well I'm kinda worried about something else," she said looking back at Rachel and Puck. "I had forgotten until Rachel and Puck came." Mike frowned and Rachel pulled Puck closer.

"What is it Brittany?" asked Rachel.

"San said something weird today." Everyone's eyebrows rose slightly. If something Santana had said, seemed weird and was worrying Brittany, there had to be something wrong.

"What did she say?" asked Kurt. Brittany bit her lip.

"She said that I was right, that she shouldn't have been mean to Rachel. That rape was wrong and you shouldn't attack the victim. But…" Mike reached out and squeezed her hand.

"It's ok Brit. We won't be angry at you for what she said."

"She said that didn't give Rachel the right to hang all over her man and for them to be together all the time." Puck's jaw dropped and he stood there completely shocked.

"I thought she broke up with you," said Rachel confused.

"She did," he said. "Long ago!" Brittany turned to them.

"She said that she was sorry for what happened but that Rachel was either leading Puck along or that Puck was somehow hoping that once she was all better he would get… rewarded. But she would get him back to focusing on her." Kurt chuckled.

"This is quite amusing."

"I fail to find this funny Kurt," said Rachel indignantly. "As Noah just said they broke up and she has no claim on him. It must be dreadfully worrying to him." Kurt's smile widened storing away that outburst for later.

"While that may be true, I happen to know that even though they broke up their little trysts continued."

Puck shrugged. "She was hot. I didn't realize she was crazy."

"Santana's not crazy," protested Brittany. "I mean she said she was sorry to Rachel right? That's not crazy." To almost everyone's mind it was crazy but simply for the fact the Latina actually apologized to Rachel for anything, though they were happy she had realized she was wrong.

"Of course Brit," said Mike. "It was really nice of Santana to do that." Nobody wanted to hurt Brittany and knowing how she felt about Santana they decided to let that conversation go for the moment.

"It was nice to hear you talk like yourself Rachel," said Artie trying to find a different topic. "When you yelled at Kurt." Puck perked up looking down at her.

"He's right!" he said triumphantly. "I told you staying by yourself would help."

"You left her by herself?!" said Mercedes standing up.

"Let him explain," said Rachel frantically. "Please?" Mercedes hesitated before fixing her glare on Puck again.

"Well?" she demanded.

"I wanted her to find her strength so she wouldn't have to depend on me as much anymore."

"What, you getting tired of helping her out? Is that it?" demanded Mercedes.

"What? No!" said Puck, confused and angry. "I want her to get back to normal." There was some tension before Mercedes smiled.

"Very good white boy," she said before sitting down. Puck didn't move for a second before turning to Rachel.

"What just happened?"

"I have absolutely no idea," replied Rachel. Mike chuckled before wincing.

"Dammit guys stop making me laugh," he demanded. Everyone laughed slightly at this, knowing Mike was trying to make them feel better about him being hurt.

"She was testing you," said Matt.

"Why?"

"To make sure you really care about Rachel," he replied shrugging.

"How do you know that?" said Puck suspiciously.

"I know how girl's think that way I know what to say and not to say to questions and when that time of the month rolls around I don't do anything to piss them off."

"Huh," said Puck not in confusion just a sound. "That actually kinda smart." Matt just smiled. A doorbell was heard and Kurt disappeared to answer it.

"At least Mike has the weekend to recover slightly before going back to school on Monday," said Rachel turning to Puck.

"I'm going back Monday," said Puck.

"But you're suspended," she protested. He just smirked.

"Let's see if Figgins keeps to his ruling when he sees what happened to Mike. I had forgotten to tell you. Miss P recommended that I shouldn't be punished and Figgins said that he would be taking a harsh view on anyone who would do anything to you anymore."

"Well Miss P is the guidance counselor. She probably knows how we see the suspension," she said with a small smile. Then she frowned. "What is Santana's problem?" she whispered making sure Brittany didn't hear them. "We're just friends." Puck rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry about it. Doesn't matter if she apologized or not I'm done with her anything outside a friend and even that will be pushing it."

"Just because of what she said to me?" asked Rachel startled.

"Well it's mostly because she's a raging bitch most of the time," said Puck smirking. The door behind them opened and Puck saw her face go tense and she moved closer to him. He turned to see Finn and Quinn standing there behind Kurt who quickly escaped from between them.

"Finn _just_ told me what happened to Mike," started Quinn glaring at Finn. He looked down. Quinn walked over to Brittany who got up and hugged her.

"Are you alright?" they all heard Quinn whisper. Brittany nodded.

"Mike says he's going to be ok," she said gesturing to him. Quinn gasped as her eyes turned to him. She turned and marched back to Finn.

"You are going to make all your football idiots-"

"Hey!" protested Puck, Matt, and Mike.

Quinn continued as if she hadn't heard them. "-tell the hockey players to back off the Glee club."

"Yes Quinn," said Finn his head still down. There were a few snickers heard around the room. It looked like Finn was still in the doghouse from his outburst at Rachel and Puck. Quinn turned to Rachel and Puck.

"How are you doing Rachel?" she asked with a small smile. Rachel looked shocked before softening and returning the smile.

"I'm getting there. Thank you Quinn."

"Finn has something he wants to say to you two, though he should have told you sooner," she said, shooting another glare at Finn. Puck was desperately fighting the urge to laugh out loud at Finn. And serves him right too. Finn finally looked up, his eyes meeting Rachel's for a moment before switching to Puck's.

"I'm sorry for thinking that you would hurt her after all you did to help her." He looked back to Rachel. "And I'm sorry for thinking I knew what was best for you, or that I could help out more than Puck."

Rachel gave him a small smile before looking to Puck.

"Thank you for saying that Finn but I'm leaving it up to Noah to forgive you or not." Puck felt a great sense of relief that she didn't just forgive Finn right away. He studied Finn for a moment.

"Just don't let it happen again dude," he said smirking slightly. A smile lit up Finn's face and he looked proudly to his girlfriend who just shook her head smiling.

"We need girl time," said Kurt standing up. "I call a girl's sleepover right now." All the guys sighed. Whenever Kurt got that tone of voice, there was no use arguing with him. Unless it had to do with feathers or sequins on their costumes. Then you fight like all hell.

"Let's go to my house guys," said Finn. "My mom doesn't mind too much when you guys come over."

Puck turned to Rachel. "Call if you need me. I'll see you tomorrow." Rachel smiled.

"Thanks Noah. Have fun." She turned back to see all the girls plus Kurt staring and smiling at her.

"On second thought take me with you," she said turning back to Puck. He chuckled.

"Boys only Rach. You'll be fine." Mike slowly stood up groaning slightly.

"Feel better Mike," said Rachel which was followed by a chorus of the same sentiment by the rest of the girls.

"Thanks girls," said Mike trying to smile. Soon all the boys were gone and Kurt turned to Rachel. She held up a hand.

"No." She turned to Quinn.

"Why are you being so nice to me Quinn?" The blonde sighed. She went to sit down on the floor but Kurt took her arm and led her to the sofa.

"Baby Momma will not sit on the floor," he said with a smile. She laughed and turned to Rachel.

"You've only ever been nice to me. That day when I said I wanted to get back at the hockey players and that was why I told the truth about Puck not slushieing you… I was lying. The hockey team never slushied me. They never really did anything to me. I felt bad for you but I didn't want to be openly nice to you because of Finn…"

"I am sorry for that Quinn," said Rachel looking down. Quinn laughed shortly.

"From what Finn told me he's probably to blame for half of it. He finally came clean after his outburst since I knew he was being jealous. And I'm sorry but I'm the one who made him stay away from you these past couple days. I didn't want him to do anything…"

"I understand Quinn," said Rachel smiling. "And thank you. I know I've said it before but I'm not going to steal him." Quinn smiled.

"Of course not. You're into Mohawks now," said Kurt with a smirk on his face.

"For God sakes Kurt!" said Rachel. "He's not in love with me. And I'm not in love with him." Kurt eyed her from the other end of the sofa, while Tina and Mercedes studied her from chairs opposite her. Brittany looked up from the floor.

"So your outburst defending him when we were talking about Santana was just nothing?" questioned Kurt.

"Yes. I was defending my _friend_," said Rachel emphasizing the word friend.

"What about Santana?" said Quinn confused.

"Santana told me today that she was sorry that Rachel had been hurt but that she was going to get her man back," said Brittany. Quinn scoffed and shook her head.

"She needs to find herself someone who will make her forget all about anyone else. Someone who will really love her. Maybe then she won't be such a bitch." Brittany looked thoughtful.

"H-how did Finn know a-about Mike?" Tina asked Quinn. She huffed and crossed her arms.

"He saw you guys carrying Mike out of school. He didn't know what had happened, but he said Mike was hurt because he had been groaning."

"Well the hockey team came up to him and Matt at lunch time. Made some more disgusting cracks at Rachel," started Kurt. "But Matt held Mike back but they lured Mike into a trap at the end of the day and started beating up on him."

"How'd he get away?" asked Quinn. Tina blushed and looked away.

"Tina saved him," said Brittany happily.

"Went out kicked one of them in the balls, called them names, and ran off," said Kurt.

"Then gave them the slip," said Mercedes. Quinn smiled widely.

"That's great Tina."

"Oh oh! I just remembered," said Kurt before turning to Quinn. "Cheerleaders as spies, true or false."

"True," said Quinn. "But how did you find out?"

"Brittany told us." Quinn looked to Brittany smiling.

"I thought about telling Mr. Schue and the rest of Glee club when Coach Sylvester kicked me off the team. But I didn't because of you and Santana." Brittany giggled and hugged Quinn.

"Pizza!" said Kurt. "Who wants what?"

"Hawaiian," said Brittany.

"Veggies," said Quinn.

"As much meat as you can pile on," said Rachel loudly. They all looked at her strangely. She shrugged.

"I want some comfort food. Maybe I won't have a nightmare tonight."

"You've been having nightmares?!" yelled Kurt.

"Well only last night, when Noah convinced me to stay by myself. I called him and he came over and stayed the rest of the night." A smirk appeared on Kurt's face.

"So you only had a nightmare when Puck wasn't around? What does that tell us?"

"That he saved me. Of course I feel safe around him," said Rachel folding her arms. "Now order the pizza." Kurt just shook his head and went out to the kitchen. Tina and Brittany started talking and Rachel started surfing the tv channels and Mercedes came over to help decide what to watch. Quinn looked at Rachel.

To be honest Quinn still had a slight problem with her. She still hadn't completely forgiven her for all the times Finn had cheated on her with Rachel though she knew it was partially his fault too. But when she saw how Rachel had defended Puck that day she knew there was more going on there than friendship even if neither of them had admitted it yet. Plus she had felt horrible about what had happened to Rachel. No one deserves that. She knew she should feel happy that Rachel was falling for Puck but she couldn't help but feel a slight bit uneasy about that and she had no idea why. So she had ignored it and decided to be nice to Rachel. It felt great to be included with the girls of the Glee club. She turned to Tina and Brittany and started talking with them a smile on her face. The night was going to be a lot of fun.

That night Puck received the first of Santana's sexts.

* * *

Well there's the chapter and what happened to Mike :( To be honest I'm actually stuck about what to do in the next chapter. I want to add some more Puck Rachel stuff to make them question themselves a little more but I'm not sure what. So I guess I'll just be waiting around for the inspiration fairies to come around. haha.

Now I really hate to be rude but I have to ask a favor of all of you. I really really appreciate all the reviews you guys have sent me but I have to ask for the people who send reviews that consist entirely of 'UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!!!' to stop. I have no problem if you send a review about the chapter that you loved it or hated it and say Can't wait for the next update or I hope you update soon. My problem is the reviews that consist entirely of Update. I understand that you like the story and you want to read more but I am in college. I am a Music major that means practicing on top of homework. And getting those kind of reviews just upsets me. I hate to be rude and have to do this here. I'm sorry if I offended anyone. Thanks for reading!!!


	17. Chapter 16

Ok first for those of you who don't read the author's notes at the ends of chapters please go back and read the one at the end of last chapter.

Second, this chapter is shorter only because I don't have any more written after this but I don't think I was going to get to finish writing it until either tomorrow or Tuesday and I didn't want to make you guys wait that long. Oh I also figured out what's going to happen that's going to make Puck and Rachel question their resolve to not get together ;)

Third, I broke 300 reviews last chapter so congratulations to rolley2001 for getting that. :)

Fourth, Thanks to all of you guys for the favorites, alerts and reviews you've given me so far. It really means a lot

* * *

Puck received a text halfway through his turn blasting the hell out of Finn on Halo. It was a while later until he actually looked at his phone to see who it was from. He almost didn't even read it when he saw it was from Santana but opened the phone anyway.

_Laying on my bed naked thinking of you ;)_

He just stared at it for a minute. The weird thing was he didn't feel turned on… Ok that was lie he was a little turned on but come on he's a dude. But the main feeling he felt was disgust. He deleted the text and turned his phone off. He worried that Rachel might not be able to reach him but then he realized first that he was here with all the dudes and he was worrying about Rachel which was a sure sign of pussiness. And second that everyone else had a cell phone where if they needed something they could call. So he pushed the sext from his mind and went back to kicking everyone's asses.

* * *

The next morning:

Quinn woke up as she felt her phone vibrate against her leg. By the time she had sleepily pulled it out whoever was calling had hung up. She frowned seeing it was Santana. It wasn't long after that until she received a text.

_Get to Ben-Israel's blog now. We have a problem. And to be clear I only have a problem with the first part. The second part may be true._

Quinn rolled her eyes, but it worried her that Santana was taking the time to contact her. But then again if it was on Jacob's blog it might be too upsetting to send to Brittany. She sneaked over to Kurt and shook him.

"Kurt," she whispered.

"Go back to sleep Quinnie," he muttered. Quinn flushed and hit him.

"Don't call me that. We have a problem. Do you have a computer?"

"Down in my room why?" said Kurt opening one eye.

"Santana just texted me saying there's something on Jew-fro's blog."

"Gossip can wait 'till the morning," he said before closing his eyes.

"I think it's about Rachel," hissed Quinn. Kurt's eyes opened again.

"You said Santana was worried about this."

"Well she said only the first part that the second part might be true but…"

"Let's go," said Kurt standing up and leading her out of the room, careful not to wake anyone up. It took a little bit for his computer to boot up but once it did it didn't take long for them to find out what Santana was worried about. They slowly turned to each other, their eyes wide, the banner at the top of Jacob's blog screaming at them.

"What do we do?! We can't tell Puck. He's going to flip!!" said Quinn.

"You want to let him find out from somebody else?" hissed Kurt. Quinn threw up her hands.

"Guys?" came Tina's voice.

"Tina! Are you the only one up?" demanded Kurt.

"Yeah. W-why?" she asked walking down towards them. Kurt and Quinn looked at each other before moving aside. Tina gasped before her expression darkened.

"H-he's the one h-helping them. The o-one who planned M-Mike's ambush." Kurt and Quinn looked at each other.

"It makes sense. He's definitely smart enough," said Kurt.

"That doesn't tell us what we're going to do," said Quinn. "How are we going to tell Rachel?" They all froze looking at each other.

"We don't," said Kurt. "Puck will do it."

"I thought we weren't going to tell Puck," said Quinn.

"You're going to call Finn. They're all going to see what we're dealing with. Then they're going to meet us at Rachel's house."

"W-why Rachel's?" asked Tina.

"So Puck doesn't break something of mine. I don't know it just feels better to do it at her house. Besides whether they're in love or friends or whatever they want to tell us, they calm each other down." They all looked at each other and nodded before looking back up the stairs where Rachel still slept.

"She d-didn't have any n-nightmares," said Tina softly.

"I wonder if that will last after she sees this," said Kurt. Quinn bit her lip and pulled out her cell phone.

"I'll call his home phone. They're probably still asleep and he won't wake up to answer his phone. I'll get his mom to wake him." Kurt and Tina nodded.

* * *

None of the boys heard the phone ring. They didn't hear Finn's mom come into the room to wake him up and give him the phone. They didn't hear when she left.

"What?!" yelled Finn and that woke everyone up. "You're joking right Quinn?" There was silence for a little while as all the boys studied Finn. He groaned. "Yeah I got it. See you later." He hung up the phone and looked up.

"We have a problem."

"You mean besides the fact that you just woke us up way too early?" said Matt.

"Well besides that," replied Finn sheepishly.

"The hockey team getting smart?" asked Mike, groaning as he stretched. "That still bothers me."

"Well, Quinn knows who helped them get smart but that's part of the problem."

"Please tell me it's not Santana," said Matt. Finn shook his head before looking towards Puck.

"They didn't tell me much, they wanted me to see it for myself but it's about Rachel." Puck felt his stomach drop.

"What's going on? Did she have a nightmare or something?" Finn just shook his head and walked over to his computer before pulling up Jacob's blog. His eyes hardened and he turned and punched the wall.

"That son of a bitch!!" Everyone slowly moved towards the screen, and slowly they saw it. The banner at the top of page screaming at them in bright red letters. Everyone felt their blood boil but they realized that the feel of the room had gone dangerous. They slowly turned to Puck who was looking at the screen as if he was trying to destroy it with just his eyes. This was how he had felt before he had flattened Karofsky.

"Dude breathe," said Matt. Puck turned and moved towards the door. They all reacted in an instant, Mike, Matt, and Finn tackling him and Artie maneuvering around them until he was positioned in front of the door. From underneath the pile Puck glared up at Artie.

"Get out of the way Abrams."

"No," said Artie crossing his arms.

"I will throw you out of that chair," he growled trying to stand up.

"No you won't," said Artie. Puck's struggles were really hurting Mike, they all could hear him hissing in pain and wincing. Finn and Matt exchanged a look.

"Dude think of Rachel," said Matt, as he and Finn tried to take control of Puck so Mike would have to do anything. Artie was fidgeting in his chair, clearly upset he couldn't help.

"What the hell do you think I'm doing? I'm hunting down Jew-fro and punching him until he takes that shit down," growled Puck.

"What if you get arrested?" said Finn.

"It's bad enough you're suspended," said Artie. Puck's struggles subsided a little.

"Rachel doesn't know yet," said Finn. "Quinn said they want you to tell her." Puck froze.

"No I can't. It'll destroy her." Mike fell back, rolling slightly until he was on his back, his eyes squeezed shut as he took shallow breaths. Puck's eyes flickered to him, before his eyes widened in realization. He growled and punched the floor. _Dammit why do I keep hurting people?!_

"Get off me," he demanded. "I'm not going anywhere." Matt and Finn stood up. Puck just pushed himself up until he was sitting, staring at Mike.

"I can't do this," he said shaking his head.

"Sure you can," said Artie. Puck just chuckled dryly. It really creeped out the other boys.

"No I can't. Do you realize how many times I've fucking cried since this happened?" A few eyes widened at this. Puck just laughed again.

"I'm not strong enough. All I end up doing is hurting people. Not strong enough to even…" _Get these stupid thoughts of Rachel out of my head,_ he finished silently. He had dreamt about her. In fact Finn woke him up out of the dream. He and Rachel kissing, them together. Couldn't even prevent himself from thinking like that after what she had gone through. A tear rolled down his cheek and he couldn't even bring himself to care. Matt, Finn, and Artie shifted uncomfortably when they saw the tear. How were they supposed to deal with Puck of all people having a breakdown?

"I cried too," came a voice. Mike had his head turned looking at Puck. Puck just looked back at him.

"That first night it all just came crashing down. How Rachel had reacted when she saw me and Matt. How broken and small she looked when she told us what happened. How scary it was to see her completely spaced out." Mike paused as he took a shuddering breath, his eyes shutting as the pain flitted through his body.

"That's when I swore to myself I would do whatever it took to help you and Rachel. I was going to help before obviously but now it was just so important." Puck snorted.

"Helping me and Rachel? You're just helping Rachel." Mike's eyes didn't waver, staring back at him.

"By helping Rachel I'm helping you. You're hurting too Puck and people are stupid to not see it. You're constantly questioning if you're strong enough. You don't think anything you do is good enough to help her… And you're still blaming yourself for it happening." The realization that Mike was right hit Artie, Matt, and Finn like a rock. They had been so focused on Rachel they hadn't seen how much Puck was hurting. It didn't help he was always hiding any signs of weakness either. Puck looked away from Mike. How did he know all that? It wasn't possible.

"You're wrong," said Puck but nobody believed him. "I just hurt you for fuck's sake what the hell are you doing analyzing what's wrong with me?" Mike just smiled slightly.

"I told you. I'm going to do whatever it takes to help Rachel _and_ you. We're friends. Besides, Rachel needs you." Puck closed his eyes. He couldn't hear this. He had told himself this so many times over the past few days.

"And you just absorbing all this stress and self loathing isn't helping her. You guys are connected more than you realize." Puck flinched at that. He knew that. He was painfully aware of that. Every single time he pushed away a thought about Rachel that wasn't about helping her he remembered that.

"And it comes down to a simple fact. If you give up, she's never going to be completely right again." Puck just shook his head, his eyes closed. He felt his shoulders start to shake.

"We're all here for you Puck. And not just us here. The girls are there for you too. Brittany's cried twice."

"Tina's cried," said Artie.

"I may have teared up," said Matt, clearly not as willing to admit that he had cried as Mike was. Puck realized tears were rolling down his face even though his eyes were closed.

"You're such a pansy Chang," he said wiping at his face. Mike just smiled.

"Your welcome."

"Are you going to tell Rachel?" asked Finn. Puck took a deep breath, before standing up.

"Yeah. Yeah I am." Mike groaned and slowly stood up. Puck frowned.

"Are you ok dude? Did-"

"I'm fine," said Mike. "Let's just get this over with so the rest of the weekend can go smoothly." They all nodded and left Finn's room.

"Finn where are you going? Don't you want breakfast?" said his mom appearing by the kitchen. Finn looked towards the guys.

"Yeah breakfast sounds good." After they all had eaten they stood up again.

"Thanks for the meal Mom," said Finn.

"Where are you going? And what happened earlier in your room? I heard a lot of commotion after that phone call."

"It's nothing Mom. Well it's not nothing. A friend of ours has been bothered by the hockey team at school and it's really gotten to her. We're just upset and going to see if we can do anything," said Finn.

All 4 other boys' jaws dropped. Finn, their dumb ass Finn, had just come up with a lie so smooth but with truth in it that his mom would believe it. His mom smiled slightly.

"Well at least she has good friends like you. I hope she feels better." Finn smiled and they all left. Puck moved over and clapped Finn on the back.

"I'm so proud of you dude."

"That lie was epic," said Artie. Finn just shrugged with a goofy smile on his face. They were all quiet on the way to Rachel's house. Puck noticed that Finn didn't need directions and tried to resist punching him and asking him how he knew where Rachel lived. His stomach lurched queasily at all the ideas that ran through his head but he deliberately put that to the side knowing what he was going to have to do. The girls were already at Rachel's house when they got there.

"Good morning Noah, Mike, Artie, Matt, Finn," said Rachel as she met them at the door.

"Hey Rach," said Puck while the other boys went into the living room.

"I think something's up," said Rachel frowning. "They won't tell me what."

"Can you go get your laptop Rachel? Then I'll explain." Rachel nodded and soon reappeared with her laptop. He pulled her into the living room and sat her down on the couch.

"Jew-fro posted something on his blog." Rachel shrugged.

"He's always posting things about me. What's the big deal?" Puck sighed running a hand through his Mohawk before opening the laptop and directing it to Jacob's blog. He then turned it to her and she felt the shock and hurt jolt through her body as she read the banner at the top of the page. In screaming red letters it read, 'Rachel Berry is a kinky slut.' As her eyes began to scan the article, she began to feel queasy.

_Rachel Berry, the girl we once thought was oh so wholesome has been found out to be a slut into rape fantasies. Perhaps her clothing choices should have been a giveaway from day one. As many of you may know, the rumors around school are that Berry was almost raped a few days ago by the hockey team. I decided to get to the bottom of this. I spoke to Dave Karofsky yesterday, still looking horrible from the beating administered by Berry's local protector Noah 'Puck' Puckerman. We'll get to him in a moment. When asked about Rachel and the day in question Karofsky responded quite truthfully._

"_Berry told us she was into group things, especially when it looked like she was being forced into it. She told us exactly what to do, where to meet her, everything… She wanted it."_

_Karofsky went on to say that they invited Puck to the party but he thought she actually was being raped and in a direct contrast to the Puck we know who uses girls like sex toys rescued her and is now protecting her._

_Or is he?_

_Did he just take her out of there so that the Glee boys could have a little fun? That's what Karofsky thinks. "Why else would they be going around protecting her? They're protecting their piece of kinky ass."_

_Another school of thought is that Berry enjoyed the feeling of being "rescued" and is leading Puck along. Dealing out sexual favors for him to stay around and be her protector. _

_No matter how you look at this situation only one conclusion remains._

_Rachel Berry is a kinky slut._

As she began to reach the end of the article she felt lightheaded and before she knew what was happening her knees gave out and she felt herself falling.

* * *

So not one part of this was written 12 hours ago (I was asleep for 9 hours of it lol). I had been thinking about my decision to not make anyone be helping the hockey team. I thought about the hockey team going to Jacob to have him post something on his blog and it just hit me. Jacob is the one helping them and this grew out of it. However the Mike thing came out of no where. Puck breaking down in front of the guys happened out of nowhere but I really really like it :) I hope you guys do too. Thanks for reading!!!!

Oh one more thing I've been reading a lot of stories lately where at the end they say "No update until however many reviews!! Review Review Review :) :)" Now I really don't get this. I'm not saying that they're stupid or wrong or anything but I don't get it. I don't see the point in basically threatening your readers to review. All you're really going to get from it is one word reviews and stuff. Well anyway if anyone can explain that would be great. Also you won't see that from me. When I get a chapter written and I'm happy with it you'll see it :)

Till next time!! Hidden


	18. Chapter 17

So this is another shorter chapter (my inspiration fairies are only coming one at a time boo) but I don't think many of you will be that angry with me by the end of it. ;) You'll see what I mean. Anyway I'm soon going to be slipping into the Wheels story line. I have more than a few things written for down the road including some Tina/Artie stuff. Anyway I would say I hope you guys enjoy the chapter but I really think you guys will enjoy it :)

* * *

Noah saw Rachel jerk when he turned the computer screen around. When he saw the green tinge her face took he stepped closer to her, but she didn't realize it and her eyes continued to scan the article. When he saw her eyes stop, he waited as was everyone else. He saw an almost confused look cross her face before he saw her begin to fall. He heard the shouts of the guys, could see the movement out of the corner of his eye as they all pushed themselves out of their chairs trying to get to her. He simply reacted, one arm going around her shoulders, the other scooping up her legs. Her eyes were still open so she hadn't fainted.

"Rachel," he said. He turned and saw that the couch that once had about half of the Glee club on it was vacant and he placed her there.

"Rachel," he said a little more urgently and worriedly. He hadn't thought she fainted but this was very weird. He could feel everyone's eyes on them.

"Rachel," he repeated and he thought he saw a flicker in her eyes.

She did hear him. But everything was weird, muffled. She wasn't sure what was happening she sorta felt like she was floating but at the same time was aware she was on the couch. His voice seemed almost to echo around her, still muffled. She could hear other voices and Noah's responding to them. Slowly the sound became clearer.

"Noah?" she asked, blinking.

"Rachel what happened?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she replied slowly, confusion covering her face.

"Can you sit up?" he asked her. She did just that. He sat down next to her and a few people sat back down as well.

"Are you ok?" he asked his eyes searching her face for any sign of unease. She sighed.

"No but I'm better that what you would expect."

"Why are you better than we would expect?" asked Artie. She shrugged.

"I guess because it's Jacob. I'm used to ignoring the stuff he posts because it's all lies. This hurts obviously. But I know it's a lie and I guess I'm just used to it." Noah once again felt a surge of hatred towards the little Jew-fro rat.

"Don't even think about it Noah." He looked to her, seeing that she was looking straight at him.

"I know you're upset but you can't get into anymore trouble. And neither can any of you," she finished looking pointedly at Mike, Matt, and Finn but meaning it for everyone not just them. They all shifted slightly, knowing they had been caught.

"We can't just let him get away with this," protested Artie.

"Well you have to. You can't touch him. You'll all just get in trouble," replied Rachel. Noah had been looking around and had stopped when he saw a thoughtful look on Matt's face. Noah could seriously see the light bulb click on and he felt a surge of hope as Matt's expression began to change.

A wicked smirk grew on his face.

"We aren't going to touch him," he said laughing slightly. Everyone's attention turned to him.

"But by the time we're done with him he's going to wish we had just beat him up." A few smirks grew on the boy's faces. Rachel was torn between frowning and smiling.

"What do you mean?" she finally said.

"Someone will walk up to him first thing Monday. My guess is Puck. Gonna say something along the lines of 'Saw the bullshit on your blog, not cool, we're all pissed' but then just walk away." The evil grin on his face grew wider. "But then he's just going to keep seeing Puck and me and Finn and Mike and Artie around just glaring at him. Soon we'll be everywhere but none of the punishment he thinks he's going to get is ever going to come. Eventually he'll get so scared he'll just crack. I bet we could even get him to piss his pants."

"I want in on this," said Mercedes a huge smile on her face. All the boys were just smirking widely laughing slightly to themselves. Noah looked to Rachel who was still on the fence. Then he saw herself give in and a big smile spread across her face.

"Ok," was all she said but everyone got excited, the girls turning to the boys to see what they had planned and how they could help. Noah smiled and turned to Rachel, only to see her shake her head.

"Are you ok?" he asked the smile dropping slightly.

"Tired all of a sudden," she replied.

"Did you sleep ok? Nightmares?" he asked worried. She shook her head.

"No. No nightmares. I didn't have that much sleep though we did stay up late but it just started to hit me.

"Maybe it's from when you fainted or whatever." Rachel shrugged.

"I have no idea." He frowned and threw an arm around her shoulders pulling her closer. He could see Kurt giving them a long hard look before turning back to the conversation he was having with Mercedes and Matt. Noah could hear Mercedes congratulating Matt on the plan but that she bet she could make Jew-fro wet his pants more than he could. Matt laughed, thanking her but saying he had her outgunned. If Noah didn't know any better he would have thought Matt was flirting but as far as he knew Matt and Santana were dating, though of course that might have gone down the gutter the minute she refused to help Rachel. Well it didn't really matter. All he knew was that Rutherford and Jones were cool in his book because they helped no questions asked from square one. Well Matt was already cool in his book before but whatever.

"You know Kurt thinks we're in love," said Rachel, pulling him out of his thoughts. He choked slightly as his eyes widened and his heart stopped. He didn't need to hear the 'l' word come out of her mouth. He didn't need to hear that someone else thought he was in… well he didn't need to hear someone else thought that. He couldn't think that word. He knew his feelings for her were growing bigger and bigger every day. They had been there ever since they dated he knew that. But it didn't matter they were friends and that's all they'd ever be. She liked Finn. Even if she was angry with Golden Boy now she'd get over it. He felt the frown wanting to show itself on his face. Besides Puck doesn't do that word.

_But Noah might…_ came that Rachel voice in his head. He pushed that away locking it back in its cage where it was supposed to be. It just always managed to find its way out.

"I told him we're just friends," said Rachel reassuring him. He just grunted. Time slowly passed and Noah continually caught Rachel's head lowering before she snapped it back up.

"Hey guys," he said a little loudly. "Rachel's ready to konk out." They all looked up and saw the weariness in her eyes before smiling and saying their goodbyes. It took less than 5 minutes for the last person to leave. Noah looked to her and smiled.

"I don't want to go to sleep," she said stubbornly.

"You should," he replied.

"Put in Beauty and the Beast," she said with a smile. He rolled his eyes but stood up and did it anyway. She had found a connection with the movie and he had to work to push away the thought that the connection was because of him. When he came back to the couch he pulled her into his lap. She didn't say anything but just lay her head on his shoulder. They weren't even a half an hour into the movie before she was asleep. He smiled and shook his head slightly. He raised a hand and gently brushed back some of her hair. She smiled slightly in her sleep. Noah felt himself yawn. The boys had gone to sleep less than 5 hours before Finn had woken them up. Normally it wouldn't be that bad, but he had been so tired lately. It really shouldn't surprise him. All the stress and worry he had for Rachel. He sighed closing his eyes. As he began to nod off, he felt himself shift slightly so that his forehead rested against hers. It was more comfortable than just letting his head lean back or forward. But more than that it felt right, but before he think anymore about that he was asleep.

* * *

Rachel's eyes fluttered as she woke up a few hours later. She remembered falling asleep on Noah's lap. As her eyes opened they widened. She was still on his lap and he had fallen asleep. His forehead was against hers and they were so close. She felt her heart begin to race and the blush slowly spread across her cheeks. She slowly raised her head from his shoulder and that woke him up. She saw his eyes widen slightly too but he didn't say anything. Their eyes kept darting across each other's faces, until they stopped on their lips. They were both aware their breathing had gone slightly ragged. Their eyes moved back up until they were looking at each other. She felt his hands tighten slightly on her legs and waist. Their eyes flicked down to the other's lips again. They both seemed to start to move but the phone rang startling them both. Before he realized it she was gone off his lap going to answer the phone but both their minds were racing.

_Does Noah/Rachel like me that way?_

Rachel shook her head and picked up the phone in the kitchen.

"Hello. This is the Berry residence."

"Hey there Berry." She froze.

"Just wondering if you saw my interview on Ben-Israel's blog. I'm almost famous now," he laughed.

"How did you get my number?" she asked her voice wavering. He laughed again.

"Jacob had it but it's in the phone book. Duh." She felt herself shaking.

"Hey I was wondering if you wanted to plan another session with the hockey team in the auditorium. Since everyone knows how much you enjoyed it last time." She slammed the phone back into its hook, his laughter cut off. Back in the living room Noah heard the phone slam. He frowned pulling himself out of his thoughts on whether Rachel did like him or not. His gut twisted slightly. His frown deepened. Something was wrong. He got up.

"Rachel?" he called. When she didn't answer he walked towards the kitchen.

"Rachel is everything…" He trailed off seeing her standing and staring at the phone, shaking, her arms wrapped around her. She turned her head towards him and laughed slightly hysterically.

"They know my phone number." In three steps he had crossed the kitchen and had her in his arms.

"Don't freak out. It's ok. It's not that bad."

"Noah they can call my house!! What if my dads find out? They might make me change schools and-"

"Rachel. Rachel look at me." She looked up at him, her eyes swimming with tears but none had fallen yet.

"Caller ID and call blocking." Her face lifted.

"I hadn't thought about that." He just smirked.

"But they know my address," she said clutching at his shirt.

"Simple. Windows and doors locked at all times. I have the spare. They do anything to your house then we actually can call the police on them. They're running out of options and are just trying to scare you." She smiled and the tears that were in her eyes went away. He sighed in relief.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. Will you stay with me this weekend? Just in case?"

"Yeah," he replied deciding that under these circumstances making her stay by herself would just freak her out. "But it depends on my mom's work schedule whether we stay here or at my house. I have to watch my sister if Mom goes to work."

"Ok," said Rachel before pulling away and walking back out to the living room. She put away the Beauty and the Beast DVD before turning on the TV and clicking through the channels. He sat down beside her. Both of them were thinking about what had almost happened before the phone rang. But they had decided that they wouldn't bring it up unless the other did. So they just sat in silence. They both knew something had changed. The feel between them was different. The feelings they had worked so hard to push away were straining at the surface begging to be set free. But there wasn't any tension in the air. It was just comfortable. Even more than they were before. They both realized in the same moment things would never be the same. They could never go back to the way they were. They had gone through too much. Something had changed and they both felt it was going to be for the better. She slowly leaned over resting her head on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her. And that's how they sat for the rest of the afternoon. Just watching TV, in comfortable silence, wondering exactly how much things would change.

* * *

Well there it is. I told you that you'd like it ;) Well next chapter is going to be Monday (in the story not Monday next week). Including a talk with Figgins to see if he will lift Puck's suspension and Jacob seems to develop a stutter even worse than Tina's during a little chat ;) Also a little look into how Mr. Schue's been handling everything and some perspective from Emma. See you guys next time!!! Hopefully my inspiration fairies will start coming back a little faster.


	19. Chapter 18

Yay! Long chapter again! This is half of Monday the next half will come in the next chapter. Being completely honest half of this chapter wasn't even supposed to happen. An OC has pushed his way into the fic. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with him ;) Here you go! Enjoy!!

* * *

The rest of the weekend passed quietly. To both Puck and Rachel's surprise no more phone calls came for her and nobody trashed her house. They didn't say anything about the almost kiss but they were cuddling a lot more. Or in Puck's head he was trying to cop a feel which was a blatant lie but there was no way he was just going to say what they were doing was something as non badass as cuddling. Besides it wasn't even like cuddling. She just sat on his lap a lot when they would watch movies and they would sleep right next to each other in bed. Then that annoying Rachel like voice in his head would yell at him saying it was cuddling and he would push it away. Things would be ok for a while then the whole cycle of his brain arguing with itself, which was messed up in itself, would start again.

Their conversation came easily and the ride to school was fairly pleasant as he argued she needed to expand her view of music outside show tunes. Of course when he realized that he was arguing about music with her he just turned on the radio and began hitting himself over the head mentally. She just giggled knowing exactly what he was thinking. When they pulled into the parking lot, Mike and Matt were there. They hopped out of the car and they all started walking into school.

"Good luck with Principal Figgins Noah," said Rachel with a smile before she and Matt continued on to their lockers. Noah just nodded and headed straight for the office. Figgins looked up as they entered his office before frowning.

"Mr. Puckerman I believe you still have 3 more days of a suspension to fulfill. Why are you here?"

"You're going to rethink that suspension when you see this," said Puck and Mike pulled a laptop out of his backpack. They had decided to show him the blog first. Figgins slowly scanned the blog before closing the laptop and handing it back to Mike.

"I cannot punish Mr. Ben-Israel for this."

"What?!" exploded Puck.

"Why?!" yelled Mike.

"That article, as upsetting as it may be, is an opinion. Also it is based on rumors. It is not an admission by anyone that anything wrong happened." Neither boy responded but Figgins could see the anger in their eyes.

"We have free speech here. If Mr. Ben-Israel has an opinion, we cannot punish him for that. Besides if I know my students well enough, he's probably getting something out of the deal to even publish this in the first place." Mike and Puck exchanged a glance. They hadn't thought of that. Figgins sighed.

"I suppose with this evidence I can reduce your suspension from 5 days to 4, but that's all I can do."

"That's not the only thing we have to show you," said Mike.

"Something that happened Friday right before school ended," said Puck. Figgins frowned.

"You have a video tape?"

"No but I think its self explanatory," said Mike who then lifted his shirt up, wincing slightly at the movement. Puck winced as he saw Mike's bruises again. They had just been purple when he saw him on Friday, but now there were yellows and greens and blues in there as well. He looked horrible. The shock on Figgins face was huge. Mike lowered his shirt.

"The hockey team did it," he said.

"We think Ben-Israel helped them think it up," said Puck.

"Because everywhere they touched him is hidden by clothing. And it's highly doubtful considering their grades that they thought of it themselves," finished Figgins, sighing and leaning back in his chair. He stayed silent for a few more moments.

"Very well Mr. Puckerman. You have served 2 days of suspension. I will let you back. However you don't get a second chance. Anything like what happened between you and Mr. Karfosky happens again you will be expelled." A huge smile broke out on Puck's face.

"So you aren't going to punish Jacob or the hockey team," said Mike, his eyes narrowed.

"No I'm not going to punish Mr. Ben-Israel. If what you are thinking is true and he is helping the hockey team the best thing I think that I can do is to get him to say names and turn them in." Mike and Puck exchanged a glance. They had their plan to get back at Jacob so that compromise was fine.

"But I can punish Mr. Karofsky."

"You're shi… ummm kidding me," said Puck catching himself. Figgins raised an eyebrow.

"Inappropriate comments toward another student. In Mr. Ben-Israel's blog he was directly quoted. And that is evidence. I will talk to Miss Pillsberry to see what kind of punishment she recommends."

"Just expel him," scoffed Puck crossing his arms. Figgins shook his head.

"Miss Pillsberry may know a way for him to recognize what he did was wrong." Both boys looked at him skeptically but hopefully as well.

"Besides Miss Pillsberry says that a few hockey players have gone to her, not knowing what to do."

"What do you mean?" asked Mike. Figgins looked at them carefully.

"This is something that was told in confidence. I will not tell you their names and I must ask you not to try and find out who they are." He saw the anger flash in their eyes before continuing quickly. "They did not do anything during the incident." Mike jolted slightly, realizing something. Puck looked to him and Figgins nodded slightly.

"There are hockey players that are extremely uncomfortable with everything that has happened and are very upset because they don't know what to do." Puck's eyebrows raised slightly.

"It's true. Less than half of the hockey team jumped me. And even then I saw a few that looked like they didn't want to be there," said Mike.

"I don't care," said Puck folding his arms. "Whether they grew a conscience or not, they still stood back and didn't help her."

"Puck, man," said Mike before Figgins could speak. "Just think about it. Some of them have gone to Miss P. A teacher!" Puck looked at him recognizing what he was trying to say.

"According to Miss Pillsberry only a small group of them ever did anything to Miss Berry," said Figgins. Puck paused thinking back to the day. He was right. The whole team was there but only a few ever touched her.

"Then why are they still going along with Karofsky?" he demanded.

"Why did Finn slushy Kurt even when he was friends with him?" said Mike. Puck sighed.

"Fine. But they should still be punished for not helping her."

"They want to be," said Figgins. Mike and Puck's jaws dropped.

"Well at least one of them has told Miss Pillsberry he wants to be punished. He came to her the day after it happened. Apparently he had seen Miss Berry in the hallways and could see how different she was." Figgins paused before continuing seeing they still didn't understand.

"He has a younger sister." Puck's eyes widened in realization.

"And he kept seeing her in Miss Berry's place," finished Figgins. Puck nodded finally completely accepting that there were hockey players who were sorry.

"What's his name?" asked Mike. Figgins hesitated.

"We just want to let him know we appreciate the fact he knows what he did. Maybe offer him a chance to apologize to Rachel. Besides if Karofsky finds out we don't want to lose any allies we may have," said Mike. Figgins looked to Puck.

"Are you willing to forgive him Mr. Puckerman?"

"Not yet," said Puck. "But… I think I'll be able to." Figgins nodded.

"Nathan Rodgers."

"He's in my math class," said Mike. There was a silence.

"Is that everything?" asked Figgins.

"Yeah," replied Puck turning and walking out.

"Thanks," said Mike. They walked down the hallways towards the choir room. They still had a little time before the first bell rung. They had gotten there early. Inside the choir room they saw Matt, Rachel, Artie, and Tina there. Their conversations stopped when the two walked in. Puck smirked.

"I'm back." He heard a squeal and then he felt Rachel slam into him hugging him. He chuckled as he hugged her back.

"Do we have time to get everyone here?" asked Mike. "We found out a lot of things." Tina nodded and began sending off texts. Rachel separated from Noah and looked up at him.

"How did you convince him?"

"Mike," he replied. "You look like even more shit than Friday," he said to Mike. Rachel looked confused.

"The bruises got ugly," said Mike.

"Are you in pain?"

"Nah. Popped a bunch of pain stuff before I came." Kurt and Mercedes walked in.

"You're back?" asked Mercedes.

"Yep," replied Noah.

"Is this the big news?" asked Kurt. "Because if it is-"

"Calm down Beyonce. We have bigger news then me coming back," said Noah. Rachel's eyes widened.

"Like what?" she asked.

"It's good news Rach," he promised with a smile.

"Really good news," said Mike. Before long Brittany, Finn, and Quinn walked in.

"Ok," said Noah as everyone sat down. "One. I'm back." Everyone smiled.

"Jew-fro isn't getting punished but that's because Figgins is trying to get him to roll on the hockey team," said Mike.

"But Karofsky is," smirked Puck. Happy exclamations of disbelief were heard.

"Inappropriate comments towards another student," said Mike. "Figgins is going to talk to Miss P about what kind of punishment they could do to make him see what he did was wrong." The students nodded. They trusted Miss P. She understood them and said Puck shouldn't be punished. She would find the right thing to do.

"And," said Mike. "There are hockey players that are very uncomfortable with what's going on." Rachel looked up shocked.

"What?" she said.

"The majority of the hockey team thinks what's going on is at the very least pushing it too far. Only a small group have ever hurt you or touched you," said Mike.

"A few have gone to Miss P to talk about it," said Puck. A few jaws dropped.

"So why haven't they turned in Karofsky?" demanded Artie.

"The same reason Finn slushied Kurt," said Mike and everyone fell silent immediately understanding. The peer pressure inside sports teams was enormous. They probably liked hockey too and didn't want to get kicked off.

"Figgins told us a name of a guy who wants to be punished for not helping Rachel." Rachel's eyes widened further, and she felt a few tears gather.

"He wants to be punished?" said Kurt disbelievingly.

"He has a little sister and kept seeing her in Rachel's position," said Puck. Kurt relaxed as did most everyone else.

"I want to talk to him," said Rachel suddenly. Noah walked over to her.

"You don't have to," he told her. She stood up and looked him straight in the eye.

"I want to. If this boy is truly sorry, I want to hear it." Then she smiled softly. "Besides, it might be nice to have some more jocks on our side." She looked around at everyone and could see the smiles.

"Well he's in my math class so I'll slip him a message to meet us here after school," said Mike.

"Who is he?" asked Matt.

"Nathan Rodgers," replied Mike. Kurt's eyes widened.

"Nathan Rodgers?" he repeated. Everyone turned to him.

"Yeah why?" asked Noah.

"I've kept track of every jock who's ever thrown me in the dumpster or slushied me," said Kurt his eyes still wide. "And he hasn't done either. Ever." A few more eyes widened. Everyone knew Kurt was the next target after Rachel for the bullying. To hear that a jock hadn't done something to him was a big deal.

"What does he look like?" asked Rachel.

"Tall. Brown-blonde hair. Blue eyes. And of course well built. He is a jock," replied Kurt. Mercedes eyed him. They were best friends and she knew something was up with Kurt. A crush maybe? She knew Kurt thought he was in love with Finn but… She'd have to ask him about it later.

"I-I don't think h-he's ever done a-anything to me either," said Tina. "I d-don't recognize him." Artie shook his head as well.

"Mercedes?" asked Matt.

"Nope," she said shrugging her shoulders. Noah looked to Rachel.

"He's never slushied me either," she said shocked. There was a silence around the room. A jock who even under the peer pressure of the school hadn't done anything. Was it even possible? The bell rang and they all began to leave.

"Mike?" said Rachel breaking them all out of their thoughts. "Make sure he comes," she said with a smile. He smiled back and nodded.

"You sound and look a ton better honey," said Kurt on his way out. "Glad you're almost back to normal." Rachel jumped slightly at that. She was getting better wasn't she? She looked to Noah who was just smiling at her. She smiled back widely. He threw his arm around her shoulders and they went off to class. Meanwhile Mercedes had caught up with Kurt.

"Hey Kurt," she said. "What's up?" He looked at her, confused before he saw the look. He looked away.

"It's nothing."

"You can't pull that across on me," she said. "Spill."

"Ok I wasn't lying when I said I kept track of who was bullying me," he said. "And he is the only one who hasn't. The _only _one." Mercedes nodded in realization.

"I guess I would have a tiny crush too." Kurt laughed once and they linked arms and walked off.

* * *

First period went a little slow for Puck. But he was waiting for it to end. He had a little business to take care of. Matt knew what he was going to do and was meeting Rachel. Though she was a lot better and he now knew half the hockey team was laying off her he wasn't going to take any chances. He swept out the door the second the bell rang and headed for a locker. He smirked as he saw Jacob Ben-Israel standing there. He walked up behind him slowly, waiting for the boy to realize someone was there. It took a while but finally Jacob turned around. He went white when he saw Puck smirking at him.

"P-p-puck. I th-th-thought you were suspended," said Jacob looking up at him.

"Change of plans," replied Puck, his face a cold mask. "I saw your blog." Jacob whimpered.

"And I'm not the only one pissed about the bullshit you posted about Rachel. Taking shots at her isn't going to fly anymore. And you're going to pay."

"Y-you can't. Y-y-you'll just get expelled." Puck didn't say anything but took a step closer to him.

"We'll see about that," said Puck raising his fist. Jacob's eyes went wider and wider and he was aware that he was shaking. Puck's fist shot out into a locker, his arm right next to Jacob's head.

"See ya around Jew-fro," he said before walking away. He didn't turn around but he did hear a sound that sounded suspiciously like something falling to the ground. When he turned a corner he looked back and saw that Jacob had fainted. He smirked to himself before sauntering off.

* * *

Second period was Will's free period and he headed towards Emma's office.

"Have you heard anything?" he asked her as he walked in. "Talked to them?"

"There's not much I can do Will," said Emma. "They've closed ranks and won't let anyone in. Especially not the teachers who betrayed them. Although they all have been a little more courteous to me when they tell us to leave them alone."

"Figgins told Puck that you recommended for him to receive no punishment." Emma's eyes widened.

"I see."

"If they're not letting you in…"

"Will, they need time. Puck is doing a surprisingly good job helping Rachel get over this. Your kids have very strong bonds."

"I don't know Emma. They're just kids."

"This is a very serious situation Will," said Emma looking him in the eyes. "Yes it would be nice to have an adult in there to help them through it but if you push them, especially Puck or Rachel, there could be huge consequences that would last the rest of their lives." Will's eyes widened.

"These things are very touchy," said Emma with a small smile. "That's why I didn't push them when you brought them to my office." Will just nodded with a sigh. They both looked up to see Figgins walk in.

"Mr. Puckerman has been reinstated," he said after closing the door.

"Why?" asked Will.

"The hockey team ambushed Mr. Chang last Friday." Will's eyes widened in fury.

"These are my kids Figgins! What are you going to do about this?!" Figgins ignored him turning to Emma.

"I have evidence that will allow me to punish Mr. Karofsky. What do you recommend?" Emma paused, thinking.

"You want something to make sure he's aware of how much damage he's caused?" she asked. Figgins nodded.

"Community service at the women's shelter," she said. "I will supervise." A smile touched Figgins' face.

"An excellent idea Emma," he said. He turned to leave but turned back around.

"I gave them Nathan's name," he said. Emma smiled.

"What?" said Will confused.

"Will," said Emma as Figgins left. "There are hockey players, the majority actually, who are sorry for what they did. Most don't know it yet. They're uncomfortable about what's going on but haven't realized it's because they're sorry. One came into my office on Thursday."

"The day after it happened," said Will. She nodded.

"Told me what had happened. He never touched her, he just didn't do anything. Said he was sorry and that he wanted to be punished for not helping her." Will's eyes widened.

"Why?" he asked.

"He has a younger sister." Will nodded in recognition.

"Why doesn't he turn them in?"

"He thinks he's the only one who feels this way. He's afraid of being beat up and he truly loves hockey."

"And my kids know his name?" he asked. She nodded.

"It's a very good sign. For Figgins to give them his name means he was convinced they had good intentions to talk to him."

"So what do we do?" he asked. She smiled sadly.

"We wait. Wait until they're ready to let us back in." Will sighed but nodded. He hadn't been able to get Rachel's look out of his head the day they had suspended Puck. The Glee club had turned the students into his kids. He felt horrible for not being able to do anything but he trusted Emma.

"I just want to do something," he said.

"I know Will," she said concern on her face. "But the most we can do is just stay in the background, silently supporting." Will didn't move or say anything but he accepted her words. They stayed in her office in silence until the bell rang when he silently stood up and left. Emma watched him leave, upset for him.

* * *

3rd period passed and Mike walked into his 4th period class, math. Nathan was there already, sitting towards the front. Mike casually dropped a note on his desk as he passed. He watched Nathan open it and saw the slight tension cross his shoulders as he read what he had written. _We know you're sorry. Rachel wants to talk. Come to choir room after school._ He turned and gave a look to Mike. When class was over they both hung back.

"How did you find out?" demanded Nathan.

"We can talk this afternoon are you coming?" replied Mike.

"No tricks?"

"No tricks." Nathan hesitated before nodding and leaving the class room. Mike smiled and headed for the lunch room. Mercedes weaved through the hallways until she saw Matt leaving his class. She fell into step next to him smirking.

"I'm beating you," she said.

"Oh?" he asked, the amusement in his tone clear.

"Just got done telling Mr. Blogger exactly where I was going to cut him." Matt shuddered slightly, making a note to never cross Mercedes. She just laughed.

"You shoulda seen him. He waddled off to the bathroom as fast as his skinny lil jew-fro legs could take him."

"Ah but I saw him still walking around in the same pants as this morning with no stain. That means he made it in time and didn't wet his pants. You're still at 0 chocolate momma," he laughed. She stopped and turned to him, an eyebrow raised. His eyes darted around and landed on Kurt walking down the hallway.

"Kurt did it," he said quickly before turning and walking in the opposite direction. He heard Mercedes' laughter follow him so he turned around, cracked a smile and headed towards the lunch room.

"What was that about?" demanded Kurt.

"I'll tell you later," said Mercedes turning to him with a smile on her face. "Did you hear what I did to Jew-fro?"

"No," said Kurt, a smile appearing on his face. "Spill."

"Almost made him wet his pants," she said. "But the damn boy made it to the bathroom in time and Matt and me are still tied." Kurt laughed.

"You know if I didn't know any better I'd say you two were flirting," he said winking at her. She rolled her eyes.

"Says the boy who wants to see love everywhere."

"I don't want to see it. I just do. I know it's there," he replied. She just laughed.

"Let's get to lunch."

They all got to their lunch table and sat down.

"I got him to come," said Mike. Everyone smiled.

"I almost got Jew-fro to wet his pants," said Mercedes. Puck just smirked and leaned back in his chair.

"I made him faint." Everyone's heads whipped towards him.

"How?" asked Rachel, unable to keep the smile off her face.

"Told him we were all pissed that it wasn't cool then before we left I had a muscle twitch."

"You didn't punch him did you?" asked Rachel her eyes wide now.

"Nope just missed his head and punched a locker," he said with a smirk. "Fainted dead away."

There was silence for a moment then everyone burst out laughing congratulating him.

"Ha! My plan is working," said Matt. Rachel smiled at Noah. He just smirked back at her. He felt his phone buzz and pulled it out.

_I'm not wearing panties and I'm soooo hot. Meet me in the janitor's closet? ;)_

He sighed and deleted the message from Santana. He had received a few more over the weekend but had deleted all of them.

"What is it Noah?" asked Rachel looking up slightly from her lunch.

"Spam message," he replied. "Don't know where they got my number." Rachel smiled and went back to eating. The whole table joked and laughed the rest of lunch. Rachel felt a smile grow on her face. They had all gotten so close. And the thought of meeting Nathan was surprisingly making her feel even better. She would have thought that meeting a hockey player would scare her, even if she knew they were sorry. She snuck a glance at Noah. She was getting better. And it was all thanks to him.

* * *

I'm really happy with this chapter. And Nathan! He just popped up in my head (He's very gorgeous in there lol) while I was writing. You'll be seeing a lot more of him. I have an idea for him that will keep him around the Glee kids a fair amount.

Please excuse the Santana sexts. I have never had a boyfriend and even then I don't think I would ever sext so I have no idea what to do. I hope it works.

Well there's a look into Will and Emma a little bit and some explanation as to why she didn't push Rachel and Puck when they came to her office.

I'm over 50,000 hits which is insane and I'm getting close to 400 reviews! Thank you guys so much for everything!! Oh and 295 alerts!!!!! Thank you guys so so much for all the support!!


	20. Chapter 19

So quick update yay!! You get a look at Nate in this chapter ;) I'm really happy with how it turned out Hope you guys like it!!!

* * *

Puck left the lunch room with Rachel waving at him as she went to her next class with Brittany. He was halfway down the hallway when he heard a voice.

"Hey Puck!" Puck turned to see Artie wheeling towards him.

"I have an idea," he said when he got close.

"So spill," replied Puck.

"You said you made Jacob faint earlier. Think you could do it again?"

"No question. Why?"

"Well if it works the stuff about Rachel will be off the internet in less than an hour."

"No shit!" exclaimed Puck looking down at him. "Let's go." It wasn't hard to find Jacob. He was at his locker. Puck walked up and slammed it closed, sneering down at the boy.

"P-p-puck why don't you just leave me alone?"

"Aw can't do that," said Puck pounding his fist into his hand nonchalantly. "You must be punished."

"Th-th-then do it," said Jacob, only very slightly meaning it. "Don't send girls to do your job."

"Oh Jones does what she wants. In fact I heard you almost wet yourself," he said leaning in closer. "She's kinda pissed you didn't. They have a contest, her and Matt. See how many times they can make you wet yourself." Jacob just looked at him wide eyed and shaking, flinching every time Puck's fist hit his hand.

"Well…" said Puck before his fist flashed out stopping inches from Jacob's face. "I'll see you around." He turned and started to walk away before he heard the sounds of Jacob fainting once again. He couldn't help himself but to laugh. Damn he was so badass. Artie rolled up and pulled Jacob's laptop out of his backpack.

"This period's my free period. By the end of it, the story about Rachel will be off and he won't be able to log back into his blog." Puck's smirk widened.

"You know what Abrams. You're kinda badass." Artie glowed with the praise before rolling off and Puck went off to take his regular nap in the nurse's office.

* * *

Meanwhile Rachel and Brittany had been chatting when Rachel blurted out, "Brittany if I told you something would you swear not to tell anyone?"

Brittany smiled. "Sure Rachel. But why aren't you telling Puck?" she asked. Rachel blushed slightly.

"It's kind of about him." Brittany's smile widened. "You have to swear," said Rachel.

"I swear," said Brittany. Rachel looked around and lowered her voice.

"Noah and I almost kissed on Saturday." Brittany squealed.

"Why didn't you?"

"The phone rang…" said Rachel. "But it's…"

"What's wrong? Don't you like him?"

"I don't know if what I'm feeling is caused by him helping me or not." Brittany stopped her.

"Rachel, if you didn't have feelings for him before it happened you wouldn't be feeling like this. You'd just have a crush or something. Besides I think you guys broke up too soon." Rachel looked at the Cheerio stunned at how intuitive she was being.

"I guess you're right Brittany. But I want to wait until I'm sure." Brittany rolled her eyes but nodded and they continued walking to class.

* * *

There were two more periods left in the day and Puck was called to Figgins' office. He walked in slightly confused. Figgins looked up.

"Mr. Puckerman, Jacob just informed me his laptop was stolen. He seems to think you are behind it but he has no proof. Of course you are not in trouble since I have no proof I just wanted to see what you would say," said Figgins looking at him.

"I don't have it," said Puck shrugging, the tiniest smirk on his face. Figgins slowly leaned back in his chair.

"Very well then. You may go. However if you do find out who took it would you tell them to return it to Mr. Ben-Israel before the end of the school year?" Puck almost chuckled.

"No problem." He ran into Artie after he left the office.

"Everything good?"

"Yeah. He had the password saved so the website remembered him. Went in took down the post. Put up a new one. Then changed the password and the security questions," replied Artie smirking.

"Nice," smirked Puck holding out his fist for Artie to bump it.

"Why were you at Figgins?"

"Jew-fro seems to think I stole his laptop. Figgins just wants it returned by the end of the school year." Artie laughed before rolling off. Puck just smirked at him before moving off to his next class. The end of the day came fairly quickly and Puck met Rachel at her locker before they both walked to the choir room. Everyone was there already. Matt was telling Mike and Mercedes about what he had done to Jacob.

"Did he wet himself?" demanded Mercedes.

"No," sighed Matt. "But he did run for the bathroom." The conversations slowly died down as the minutes ticked by. Finally the door slowly opened and Nathan walked in hesitantly. Puck felt Rachel start shaking slightly by his side he looked down and saw her eyes had widened slightly.

"Rachel?" he asked. Everyone's eyes moved to her.

"The jacket," she said. "I'll be fine." Puck wrapped an arm around her. Nathan had jumped slightly at her words before looking down at his jacket. He took it off and tossed it on the floor. When he looked back up, they could see emotion warring in his eyes.

"Who told you?" he finally said.

"Figgins," replied Puck.

"And why do you want to talk to me?"

"Because I want to know if you're telling the truth," said Rachel. They saw another emotion flash in his eyes before it disappeared.

"You think this is a trick," he said.

"We don't know," said Artie folding his arms.

"The only reason we're even talking to you is because none of us remember you bullying us," said Kurt stretching the truth. They all knew the fact he had talked to Miss Pillsberry was the other huge reason why they were talking with him right now.

"That's because I haven't," said Nathan tightly.

"Why?" asked Rachel.

"Because you shouldn't be mean to people who are just being themselves," he replied. "Just because I'm on the hockey team doesn't mean I'm a moron, a bully, or a Neanderthal. I just love hockey."

"How long have you played?" asked Mike.

"As long as I can remember. Street hockey, roller hockey, ice hockey, whatever I could get my hands on."

"Favorite team?" asked Matt.

"Red Wings unless you ask my dad. Then I'm a Blue Jackets fan." The boys snickered at that. The girls were clearly confused.

"Why did you go to Miss P?" asked Rachel.

"I didn't know who else to talk to." Rachel paused.

"That day… Did you touch me?"

"No," he spat, his tone harsh. "I wouldn't."

"You would just stand back and watch," said Puck.

"I didn't know what to do!!" exploded Nathan. "I didn't know what they were planning they just told me to come along. And everything got out of control. I couldn't take on the whole team!!"

"Why did you leave when I told you all to?" asked Puck. "If you were so worried about her, why would you leave when I was…"

"You didn't mean it." Puck's eyes narrowed.

"How did you know that?"

"When they tore her shirt I saw the anger in your eyes. Then watched you count all the guys there trying to figure out if you could take them on. And I didn't leave when you told us to. I lagged behind everyone and stayed in the auditorium to help if…" he trailed off. "I didn't want to trust I had read you right then find out I was wrong." There was a long silence before Rachel spoke up in a soft voice.

"Are you sorry?"

"Yes," he said frantically. "I'm so sorry Rachel. I saw you the next day and you were always looking around you when you walked even with your friends there and I was just…" Rachel slowly started walking towards him. Puck caught her hand but she just squeezed his hand before letting go. She walked up to him. She looked up at his eyes that were begging for forgiveness.

_He's about as tall as Noah,_ she heard herself think. It was very random so she pushed it away. Then she smiled softly.

"I forgive you Nathan."

A huge smile broke out on his face. The tension seemed to vanish from him and he let out a huge breath.

"But I know Noah hasn't forgiven you yet. I don't know how many of my friends do forgive you. But I know they will be able to."

"Eventually," said Puck gruffly. Everyone offered him at least a small smile.

"Call me Nate," he said to Rachel and to everyone.

"Ok then Nate. Your dad is a Blue Jackets fan?" said Matt. Nate chuckled running a hand through his hair.

"Pssh," scoffed Mercedes. "You shouldn't be rootin for Red Wings. Everyone knows Pittsburgh's where it's at."

Nate's jaw dropped. "You know hockey?" Mercedes just raised an eyebrow.

"Just because I'm a girl? Come on. I'm no Barbie doll. Besides Crosby's pretty hot for a white boy."

"Sidney Crosby," said Kurt fanning himself slightly. "I have no idea how he keeps his boyish good looks in that horrid sport."

"We should introduce ourselves to Nate," said Rachel. "I'm sure he doesn't know all our names."

"Yeah I do," said Nate.

"How?" asked Artie. Nate looked away embarrassed.

"I may have sneaked into some of your rehearsals in the auditorium." Everyone looked at him shocked.

"I was walking by the auditorium one day after school and I heard you guys. It was really good so I snuck in," said Nate, pink starting to touch his cheeks. There was silence before a few people burst out laughing. Before long everyone was laughing, even Nate, though embarrassedly.

"A hockey player who thinks we're good!" laughed Kurt. "I must be dreaming."

"W-w-what songs did you hear?" asked Tina.

"Well I saw 'Push It'," he said. A few people winced at the memory of that. "But the one that really hooked me was I saw you guys practicing for the invitational. You were singing 'Somebody to Love.' I guess now that I think about it I've only seen 2 or 3 of your numbers."

"What's the third one?" asked Rachel.

"Keep Holding On." They all nodded and smiled at him.

"Well Nate I think I speak for all of us," said Quinn. "You're welcome here anytime you want to listen to a rehearsal." Everyone nodded.

"And if Karofsky finds out one of us will deal with him," said Finn. Nate just smiled at them, amazed that in the span of less than half an hour he had a new group of friends.

"I can't believe you guys are welcoming me so quickly."

"Oh it's quite easy," said Kurt. "You think we sound good, you've never slushied any of us and you're a hockey player. We'd be idiots to turn away an ally and friend like that." Nate smiled widely again.

"Can you sing?" asked Rachel.

"I'm nothing like you guys," said Nate shaking his head. "I'll leave it to you," he said laughing slightly. Everyone smiled slightly.

"What?" he asked.

"You said you only heard 3 of our songs?" said Artie rolling over to his guitar.

"You want to see another one?" asked Rachel smiling. Nate nodded.

"Yeah that'd be great!"

"Which one Rachel?" asked Puck.

"How about 'Don't Stop Believing'?" she asked.

"But we don't have the horns or a drummer," said Kurt.

"Finn can drum."

"But then I can't sing," said Finn.

"Oh…" said Rachel biting her lip.

"I'll do it," said Puck. Everyone looked at him.

"What? It's this one time. Don't look at me like that," he protested folding his arms. Everyone shrugged and got to their places. Rachel ran over and played their opening pitches quickly. They all smiled at one another and began singing.

Will was walking down the hallway when he heard music. He looked into the choir room to see all his kids performing 'Don't Stop Believing.' Except Puck was singing lead with Rachel. Their voices worked well together and began to give him a few ideas, but those stopped when he saw the boy who was watching them. Slowly a proud smile began to grow on his face. He turned around as someone tapped his shoulder. It was Emma.

"What is it Will?" she asked seeing the proud look on his face.

"That's Nathan Rodgers isn't it?" he asked pointing in the window. Emma looked in before turning back to him smiling.

"Yes it is." They both turned back to the window.

"They forgave him," said Will, so proud of his kids.

"This is a big step Will. For more than just your kids. The lines that this high school has drawn between the popular kids and the geeks so to speak keeps getting blurred." Will looked at Emma.

"I'm just so proud of them."

"You should be Willl," she replied before they fell silent and just watched the kids perform, huge smiles on their faces.

* * *

Yay!!! Ok so next chapter the Wheels story line starts. There will be some differences. For example Tina has some help in deciding to tell Artie she has a stutter and they both have help to make up before Proud Mary. But who does the help come from? haha Oh also the baking scene will be different. That's all I know for now.

For those of you who don't know. The Red Wings are from Detroit and The Blue Jackets are from Columbus. I don't really follow hockey but I know the basics.

Oh also I have some plans for Nate but I want to know what you guys think of him.

And *drum roll* Puck and Rachel start dating at some point during the Wheels story line. Yep its finally coming!!! Are you excited? haha.

Last thing You guys are really lucky I'm a poor college kid who can't afford cable or a tv in her room or the Olympics would be taking precedence over this lol.


	21. Chapter 20

Yay part one of the Wheels story line!!! I've been sick today and yesterday so that's why you only get half the headache got too bad. But anyway to be clear the next part is going to finish the Wheels story line but there's going to be some more stuff before the Ballad story line starts. It's probably going to be along the lines of a party etc but I'm not sure yet.

Oh congrats to sweetcaroline1986 for getting the 400th review. Thanks for being there from the beginning :)

Let's see what else oh I broke 100 favorite story and 300 story alerts. Thanks so much guys!!!!! Enjoy!

Oh I think this chapter requires a disclaimer considering I've taken dialogue directly from the show. SPOILERS!!!!! and I don't own Glee.

* * *

The next day went as well as could be expected. When Glee rolled around Rachel was in a really good mood. She actually felt normal. It was really nice. Mr. Schue walked in.

"Alright guys we're going to be doing a new number for sectionals. I know that pop songs have normally been our signature pieces, but I did a little research on past winners, and it turns out that the judges like songs that are more accessible. Stuff they know. Uh, standards. Broadway."

"Defying Gravity?" asked Kurt, the excitement clear in his voice. "I have an iPod shuffle dedicated exclusively to selections from 'Wicked'. This is amazing."

"Think you can handle it Rachel?" asked Mr. Schue and the happy face on Kurt's look fell. Puck saw Kurt's shoulders slump. _Gee Mr. Schue. Oblivious much?_ Then when he heard what he had just thought, he shot a glare over at Rachel. Her and her speaking in long words, making him learn.

"It's my go to shower song," replied Rachel. "It's also my ringtone."

"Oh!" said Puck suddenly. "If you change my ringtone to that again…" he growled and everyone laughed.

"It's only for when I call," she protested.

"Don't care," he replied.

"So you switched it back to 'Sweet Caroline'?" she asked a knowing smile on her face. There were a few snickers and he just glared at her.

"Well anyway, why do you we have to go all vanilla on this song?" asked Mercedes. "See what we need is my chocolate thunder." Everyone laughed a little bit.

"Ok, we don't have time to rearrange the song for you Mercedes. Rachel is singing it. Don't worry. We'll find something for you to dip in chocolate." More laughter was heard.

"On to item 2," said Mr. Schue. "The school won't pay for the special bus we need to take Artie and his wheelchair with us to sectionals." Artie's face fell. Tina was the first to speak up, unsurprisingly.

"Wh-wh-what?" she demanded, her stutter a little worse than normal from the anger she felt.

"That's completely unfair," said Rachel.

"So," continued Mr. Schue. "We're gonna have to raise money to pay for it ourselves." Tina nodded towards Artie, letting him know they wouldn't let him down.

"See when I was in Glee club and we needed new silk cummerbunds for regionals we held a bake sale."

Puck turned to look at Mr. Schue disbelievingly. Rachel had smiled however. After a moment of silence a few people laughed. Tina looked very unhappy, as did Artie.

"Wait you're joking right? I mean bake sales are kind of boujie," said Santana. She was slightly startled at the glares that were sent her way but she just sat back in her chair and ignored them.

"So hip people stopped eating delicious sugary treats?" asked Mr. Schue, not believing his kids were doing this.

"It's not that," said Brittany. "It's just most of us don't know how to bake. I find recipes confusing."

"While my family may be fully committed to take out, I do know how to make my sugar cookies," said Rachel throwing a smile towards Artie. Mr. Schue smiled at her.

"Well either way Mr. Schue," said Finn and Mr. Schue sighed. "Kids are busier than when you went here. We've got homework and football and teen pregnancy, lunch."

"Can't Artie's dad just take him?" asked Mercedes. Rachel and Tina were looking around the room, shocked at their friends.

"I can't believe how insensitive you're all being," said Mr. Schue. "Are you a team?"

"Of course," said Quinn. "But Artie understands. Don't you Artie?" she asked turning to him. He immediately plastered on a fake smile.

"Of-Of course. I-It's cool," he said, starting to sound a little like Tina. "I mean anything that takes away our time rehearsing doesn't serve as a team." Tina looked at him, knowing he was lying. The bell rang and almost everyone stood up and left. Rachel stayed, as did Tina. Rachel stood up.

"Well I'm going to go start planning out when I have free time to start churning out cookies," said Rachel. Mr. Schue smiled at her.

"Thank you Rachel." She just smiled back, gave a smile to Artie and left. Tina moved down and hugged Artie.

"I-I'm going to help her," she told him before running after Rachel. Artie smiled before leaning down and trying to tie his shoe. Mr. Schue walked over.

"Here let me help you buddy."

"Thank you," replied Artie.

"Hey I'm really sorry about how they all reacted Artie."

"It's okay I'm used to it. They just… don't get it," he chuckled. "Can I use the auditorium to rehearse this afternoon Mr. Schue?" he asked after a brief silence. "Some of the band equipment's in there."

"Sure," replied his teacher with a smile. Artie smiled and rolled off, Mr. Schue watching him go.

* * *

After school, Noah took Rachel home. He came up to her room to hang out for a bit before he had to get home. She went over to her desk and laid out the tentative schedule she had created earlier. She bit her lip.

"I don't know if I'll be able to make them fast enough…" Noah sighed.

"I thought Mercedes and Artie were friends."

"They are," replied Rachel. "But I didn't hear you speak up in his defense."

"Hey I can't bake. I can cook but I can't bake," he protested. Rachel sighed.

"Quinn had seemed so nice at the sleepover but today she was such a…"

"Bitch?" offered Noah. Rachel sighed and nodded.

"Despite how I hate the use of profanity I feel that word is proper to use in this situation." A silence fell. Noah finally decided to try and talk to her about what he'd been thinking the rest of the day after Glee.

"Hey Rachel. You know that chick solo you're singing." Rachel fixed him with a glare.

"You mean Defying Gravity?"

"Yeah. You know I think Kurt really wanted the solo."

"But it's sung by a girl. And it's my solo."

"Rachel listen to yourself."

"No Noah. I know what you're going to say, but I am a rising star. The more people that hear my talent the better and that means all the solos I can get." Noah got up from her bed and walked over to where she was sitting by her desk.

"And when you're finally at the top, you're not going to have any friends because you've stolen from them their turns to shine."

"You're asking me to give away my solo?" she demanded.

"I'm asking you to think about it Rachel. What if you were in Kurt's shoes? He obviously loves that song as much as you do. Besides, I really think you need to calm down your whatever it is when it comes to singing."

"You mean my drive and determination?"

"I mean your rude attitude to anything that takes you out of the spotlight," he said bluntly. "You hurt people Rach but I don't think you even realize it." Her eyes widened slightly.

"Like Tina…" she said looking down.

"Like Tina," he confirmed. "Hey I have to go. Promise me you'll just think about it? And call if you need to talk."

She nodded and gave him a little smile. He smiled back and left her room. A few minutes later she heard his truck starting. She got up and threw herself across the bed, staring up at the ceiling before getting lost in her thoughts.

* * *

The next day in Glee, Kurt stood up. "I have something I'd like to say." He paused. "I want to audition for the Wicked solo." There were a few murmurs around the group.

"Kurt there's a high F in it," said Mr. Schue disbelievingly.

"That's well within my range," replied Kurt. The murmurs grew louder. Puck appeared to be disinterested but he had his eyes on Rachel.

"Well I think Rachel's gonna be fine for the female lead," said Mr. Schue. Kurt snuck a glare at Rachel "But I'm happy to have you try out something else Kurt. And we'll make sure it has a killer high note in it." Kurt deflated and began to sit down, but Rachel popped up.

"Wait Mr. Schue." The whole Glee club froze except for Puck who just smiled to himself. "What if we make it a duet?"

Everyone's jaws dropped. Kurt had turned to look at her wide eyed and disbelieving . She shifted uncomfortably.

"Is it really that unbelievable?"

"Yes," chorused everyone. She flinched but turned back to Mr. Schue.

"I think our voices would blend well together. The harmonies wouldn't be that difficult to write in and Kurt wants to sing it. Would you be ok with a duet?" she asked Kurt. Kurt threw her arms around her, but before she could respond he had pulled away regaining his composure.

"Yeah that'd be fine with me," he said nonchalantly. A smile slowly spread on Mr. Schue's face.

"Well excellent. It looks like that's settled." Both Rachel and Kurt sat down, Mercedes squealing and hugging Kurt as he did. Rachel looked over to Puck who just nodded his head.

"Wait wait stop," said Matt turning to Puck. "You convinced her to do this." Everyone's eyes turned to him.

"What? No. I had no idea she was going to do this," he protested.

"Noah just gave me some good advice," said Rachel. Everyone seemed to accept this and looked back to Mr. Schue.

"Anyway," said their teacher. "I wanted to say something to you guys. I was a little disappointed at how most of you were all so willing to take the bus together to sectionals and make Artie drive by himself with his dad. We're a team guys. We're in the Glee club together."

"Artie doesn't care. His dad drives him everywhere," said Mercedes.

"I do care," said Artie. "It kind of hurt my feelings."

"We didn't think you would take it personally," said Santana.

"Well you're an ice cold you know what most of the time but don't take that personally," replied Artie. Santana scoffed and looked away.

"I don't know if you guys really understand how much harder Artie has to work just to keep up," said Mr. Schue.

"Preach," said Artie.

"We're riding to Sectionals together or we're not going at all. And to pay for the bus, you guys are going to help Rachel and Tina with the bake sale." A few scoffs were heard while Artie gave Rachel a smile before turning to Tina who grabbed his hand and squeezing it as a congrats. *

"St. Ignatius nursing home was having a tag sale," said Mr. Schue going to the choir room door. "And my A.V. club friends here agreed to help out. For the next week, each of you is going to spend three hours a day in a wheelchair." The murmurs of defiance broke out.

"Oh, oh, oh. And we're doing a wheelchair number." Artie started clapping, a huge smile on his face.

"Rachel, Tina I know you guys already volunteered to help but I would like to ask you guys to do this along with the rest of the Glee club."

"It's no problem Mr. Schue," replied Rachel. "It will help me get used to the chair for the number."

"D-d-don't worry Mr. Schue," said Tina smiling. Mr. Schue smiled back.

"Thanks girls. Ok you guys are dismissed."

* * *

The rest of the week didn't work out too well for everyone. Everyone had problems, though Rachel getting her lunch dumped on her was one of the worst. Artie apologized profusely for that, since Rachel had offered to do the wheelchair experience. She assured him that it was ok and eventually he did stop saying he was sorry.

Halfway through the week, Puck followed Rachel to a room he hadn't been in before. He walked in to see her surrounded by cooking ingredients.

"I didn't even know we had a home ec room," he said. "What's all this?" Rachel looked at him with a slightly incredulous look on her face.

"Ingredients for cupcakes. For the bake sale. Tina has got the grasp of my famous sugar cookies and is going to be working on those at home but I decided to see if I could make cupcakes."

"Your _famous_ sugar cookies?" he asked teasing her. She rolled her eyes.

"You are such an egg head."

"I'm not," he replied, moving closer to her. She looked at him before smiling a little and turning towards the ingredients. In a flash she had picked up an egg and smashed it on his head. She smiled widely, biting her lip to keep from laughing. He turned and grabbed some flour and threw it at her. She was laughing now and the next thing they knew, they were in a full out food fight. Finally they slowed down, she was still laughing and he just smiled looking down at her and moved some hair out of her eyes. Just then Mike walked in.

"What the hell?" he said laughing. Rachel turned to him smiling.

"We're baking," she said and Mike fell to the ground because he was laughing so hard. Puck just chuckled.

"I'm gonna go change."

"No you don't," said Rachel. "You are staying here until everything I had perfectly measured out is back where it's supposed to be."

"Make Mike do it."

"I can't breathe!" said Mike in between laughs. Rachel bit back another laugh.

"See? He can't breathe. You have to help." A laugh escaped Puck and then all three of them were laughing uncontrollably.

* * *

The next day Kurt, rolled up to Rachel.

"My dad is in love with you," he informed her.

"And why is that?" she asked smiling.

"I had told him about the solo that I loved and he had encouraged me to try and see if I could get it. So when I came home and said you offered for it to be a duet he got really excited."

"Because you got the solo sort of?" she asked.

"Because he saw how happy I was," he said smiling. Rachel just smiled back. They didn't say anything after that. They didn't really need to. They just went their separate ways.

* * *

Puck, Finn, and Santana were at the bake sale table with the cookies and cupcakes in front of them.

"These are really good. I don't know why we aren't selling any," said Finn.

"It's not about the cupcakes or the cookies," said Quinn. "It's about us. Nobody wants to buy from losers. We're in Glee club _and_ in wheelchairs."

"She has a point. Six months ago I could have sold 50 of these things on fear alone. Wait…" said Puck scanning the lunchroom. He quickly saw the subject. He stood up.

"I'll be right back."

"You're not supposed to be out of the wheelchair," said Finn. Puck just looked at him.

"Give me a minute and I'll be right back in it Mom," he said. He came back dragging Jacob Ben-Israel.

"Now, you buy some of this stuff, you tell your friends or just people you run into because I doubt you have friends about this and we leave you alone the rest of today."

"The rest of the week," said Jacob.

"The rest of today and tomorrow or no deal," said Puck leaning over him. Jacob whimpered.

"Fine," he muttered, before buying a cupcake and a cookie and scurrying off.

"Dude," said Finn. "That was a good idea." Puck smirked and sat back down in his wheelchair.

"Oh my god," said Quinn. Puck and Finn both looked to see her staring at Brittany who was walking with a girl with Down's Syndrome. "What is she doing?" Puck forced himself not to glare at Quinn. Geez she had been a bitch this week.

"I actually think they're kind of friends," said Finn.

"Brittany's always cheating off her test papers in Math class," said Puck.

"You don't go to Math class," scoffed Quinn. Puck looked away.

"Oh my God. Rachel got you to go to Math. Is she a saint or something?" she scoffed. This time Puck did glare at her.

"See so many?" said Brittany, finally at the table. "And look how pretty they are Becky."

"Wow," said Becky.

"Brittany you're supposed to be in your wheelchair," said Santana.

"I lost it," replied Brittany. Puck hid a smirk.

"Are you a cheerleader?" Becky asked Santana. "It's so cool." Puck was now glaring at Santana. She had a look of disgust on her face and if she said anything, he might have to bend his rule about not hurting girls.

"So is buying a cupcake," said Brittany before Santana had the chance to say anything. "That's really cool."

"But I don't have any money," said Becky looking up at Brittany.

"That's ok. I have some," said Brittany pulling out her wallet and giving Becky a dollar. She handed it to Santana who took it and handed it to Quinn, who handed it to Puck, who handed it to Finn.

"Thanks," said Becky as she got her cupcake before she walked off.

"So how much do we have now?" asked Brittany.

"Well with this one dollar we have three dollars," said Finn.

"This is ridiculous," said Quinn. Puck rolled his eyes.

"Maybe if we gave free samples or something," said Finn.

"Are you an idiot?" demanded Quinn. "How am I supposed to trust you to take care of our baby when you can't even figure out how to sell a damn cupcake?"

"Stop attacking me," said Finn. "I'm sick of it."

"Get a job."

"I'm trying!" said Finn standing up and kicking his wheelchair before storming off. Quinn sighed and went to roll away in her wheelchair but got stuck a few times before leaving. After lunch Puck ran into Tina.

"Tina," he said. She turned and saw him.

"Wh-what's up Puck?" she asked. "How much did you sell?"

"Two cupcakes and a cookie but I made a deal with Jew-fro to buy the cupcake and cookie and tell people they're good and we wouldn't bother him the rest of today and tomorrow," he replied before pulling out his phone and texting the guys and Mercedes about the deal he had made.

"Cool," she replied about to roll away.

"We need to talk about your stutter," he said looking up at her from his phone. She froze.

"You thought I forgot didn't you?" She didn't say anything but began to roll off towards the choir room. He followed her. The choir room was empty when they got there.

"It's not real," she said as soon as he closed the door.

"Artie doesn't know does he?" She shook her head.

"Tell him," he said. "It's better if you're honest about it. You don't want him to find out from someone else if they find out and then you two won't have a chance." She blushed at those words but didn't deny the insinuation. "Besides, it's just going to eat at you." He felt his heart clench and his stomach flip nauseously as he realized the advice he was giving Tina was the exact opposite of what he was doing with the baby… Oh god he needed tell Rachel. He needed to tell her before the secret destroyed anything that could possibly happen between them. Tina seemed to notice.

"Thanks Puck. But if I may say I think you need to follow your own advice with whatever's eating you up right now." He just nodded, now extremely distracted. But how could he tell her? He couldn't tell her now, she was just getting back to normal. He resolved to wait at least a week to tell her but at the most a month unless something else came up. When he looked up Tina was gone and he went off to his class.

* * *

Well there you go. Oh the place up there where there's an * symbol by where Artie and Tina squeezed hands? That's actually in the show! Go check your DVD's. Speaking of the DVD's I highly encourage you to watch the whole season again except watch the background characters. It's quite amusing and you get a better feel for Matt and Mike among others.

Anyway hope you guys enjoyed it!!!! See you next time :)


	22. Chapter 21

Well here's the new chapter. You would have had it yesterday but you can thank the lovely couple in the room next to me that decided to have sex all afternoon and I switched from focusing on this to focusing on my music so I wouldn't have to hear them. But anyway, it's here. I'll do another disclaimer since I have once again taken directly from the episodes

I do not own Glee and SPOILERS! for Wheels

* * *

"The key to a double turn is to just go for it," said Artie as he rolled in front of the group on the stage during the next Glee practice. You push with the right wheel and pull as hard as you can with the left and find a spot on the wall to spot you so you don't get dizzy." The Glee club began to try it out. A few had the hang of it but mostly it just looked pretty bad. Mr. Schue winced.

"Ok guys. Uh take five all right?" he said. "Oh remember to show up early tomorrow! Kurt and Rachel will be singing the Defying Gravity duet." Everyone smiled before beginning to roll out of the room. Finn rolled over and playfully bumped into Quinn.

"Careful," said Artie. "Respect the chair." Brittany gave him a high five as she left, which put a big smile on his face. Despite the fact they were all in Glee, getting recognition from one of the Cheerios was a big deal. Tina rolled up to him.

"I really admire you Artie," she said, with a smile. "I had no idea how difficult this was."

"It's just like you with your stutter," he told her and her smile fell slightly. "You don't really notice it after a while."

"H-h-how did it happen?" she asked as he went to roll away. She hadn't meant to stutter. She was nervous about the question and she was feeling ashamed that she had faked the stutter in the first place. "You don't talk about it."

"My mom and I got in a really bad car accident when I was 8. She was fine but… I've been in the chair ever since."

Tina nodded.

"But I want to be very clear," he continued. "I still have the use of my penis." Tina looked at him oddly. She had wanted to ask him on a date or something to tell him but it would just be awkward to do it after that. So she turned and rolled away. Later that night what he said would really sink in and she would spend over 15 minutes trying to stop her face from being that red.

* * *

The next day, Noah and Rachel were in the choir room.

"Here's your problem," said Noah fitting a wheel back onto a wheelchair. "You just had a bent push rim. Good as new," he said sitting it back upright.

"Thanks Noah," said Rachel smiling. "And… thanks for the advice." Noah sat down in a chair next to her.

"I was really proud of you," he said and she felt her heart soar at the compliment.

"Well you were right. I was just being selfish and-"

"Rachel," said Noah sharply.

"It's true Noah. People just don't like me."

"But you're working on it and besides I like you," he said. They both froze staring at each other before a smile spread across her face. They had just begun to move closer when Quinn pushed Finn inside the classroom.

"We need to talk," she told him.

"We'll just get out of your way," said Rachel.

"Nope! You stay. I need a witness," said Quinn to Rachel before turning back to Finn holding out an envelope. "Do you know what this is?"

"Oh. It's just a past due notice. My mom gets them all the time."

"Right," she snapped. "But if this sonogram bill doesn't get paid it's not your phone that's gonna get cut off. _You_ will get cut off. You need to help me with this Finn or else we're gonna go our separate ways," she finished throwing the bill at him before leaving the room.

"I'm screwed…" was all Finn said before leaving. Rachel and Noah looked at each other.

"Do you think that's why she's been such a… bitch this week?" asked Rachel. Noah smirked at her.

"Hey good for you Berry. You said bitch," then he sighed. "Yeah most likely."

"Why aren't her parents paying for this?" asked Rachel. Noah raised an eyebrow.

"President of the Celibacy club?"

"Oh…" said Rachel. "So her parents don't know."

"Probably not," said Noah shrugging. Rachel stood up.

"I have an idea," she said before flying out of the room. As soon as she was gone, Noah's seemingly indifferent appearance dropped. Quinn couldn't afford the sonogram. If that continued that meant his baby might go without medicine or whatever it needed. But then his mind wandered to what had happened before Finn and Quinn had come in. They may not have been as close to it as last time, but if they hadn't been interrupted he knew they would have kissed. He groaned. He hadn't even told her about the baby… He made up his mind. He would tell her before they kissed. It was becoming clear to him now that she did have feelings for him. And if she wanted him, he would be hers, but a huge obstacle stood in the way. And Rachel didn't even know about it. He sighed before standing up and leaving. All of a sudden Nate was walking next to him.

"I have to make this fast. If they see me with you I'm dead," he said quickly. "They're planning on slushieing Rachel. 3 at once. Make sure it doesn't happen," he finished before peeling off. Noah watched him go stunned. Guess he _was_ on their side. Then he realized Rachel had run off. He had no idea where she was. He began to move fast through the halls, looking for her while pulling out his phone.

_911. Need 2 find Rach gonna b slushy attack_. He sent it off to the members of Glee. Minutes passed and he still hadn't seen her. He felt his phone buzz and he whipped it out. It was from Kurt.

_Rachel's safe. We're cleaning off Artie in the bathroom by the choir room._ Noah read the message confused before heading in that direction. When he walked in, they had Artie on a chair they must have stolen from a classroom. Rachel was washing out his hair and Kurt was cleaning his wheelchair.

"Spill. I want to know how you knew this," said Kurt looking up at him.

"Nate gave me a heads up," said Puck. A smile broke out on Kurt's face.

"Well we'll have to give him all our numbers the next time we see him so he can alert us that way," he said before going back to work on the chair.

"Abrams what happened?" asked Puck.

"Well I was looking for Rachel but I found the hockey players. But instead of one slushy they had-"

"Three," said Puck. "Yeah Nate told me that too."

"So I deliberately ran into one of them. He got pissed and they all turned and slushied me."

Puck smirked. "Well Abrams you're getting more and more badass day by day," he said. Artie smiled widely. Rachel smiled at Puck and he smiled back, while Kurt looked on smirking.

* * *

During lunch, they were bombarded by people at the bake sale table. Apparently Jacob had followed through on his part of the deal. They were quickly selling out.

"Hey guys this is amazing!" said Mr. Schue walking up to the table.

"I guess the people that bought yesterday told their friends," said Puck smirking.

"Great job guys," said Mr. Schue before walking off.

* * *

At the end of the day Rachel met Kurt at his locker.

"Are you ready to blow them away?" she asked with a smile.

"Rachel I can't do this," said Kurt.

"What?" said Rachel confused. "This was what you wanted. You were so happy."

"Things change," he replied before going to turn away.

"What happened Kurt?" she asked softly. He sighed.

"Somebody called my dad and said I was a fag. He was so upset…" he finally said. Rachel's eyes widened.

"So you're giving up so that it doesn't happen again."

"I am not giving up. I am choosing my dad over the spotlight," he snapped.

"Then at least sing it today. We don't have to do it at Sectionals. Sing it for your friends." Kurt hesitated before nodding.

"And I'll tell my dads to call your dad. They can help," she said with a smile. He gave her a small smile back.

"Thanks Rachel."

They walked into the choir room together. Rachel went over and began whispering to Mr. Schue, who's eyes widened before nodding. Puck frowned, his eyes moving from Rachel and Mr. Schue to Kurt, who seemed a little down. Soon everyone else was there.

"Ok guys. I know we're all excited to hear this," said Mr. Schue with a smile. "Take it away guys."

Rachel and Kurt stood side by side at the front of the room. The music began to play. Rachel began to sing.

_Something has changed within me  
Something is not the same  
I'm through with playing by the rules of someone else's game_

Kurt took a deep breath and took over.

**Too late for second guessing  
Too late to go back to sleep  
It's time to trust my instincts  
Close my eyes and leap**

Rachel smiled widely at him as the chorus began.

_It's time to __**try  
Defying Gravity  
**__I think I'll __**try  
Defying Gravity**__  
Kiss me __**goodbye  
I'm Defying Gravity  
And you won't bring me down**_

Kurt's voice had gone slightly hard at the last line and Rachel knew he was singing to whoever had called his father. Rachel began the next verse.

_I'm through accepting limits  
'Cause someone says they're so_  
**Some things I cannot change  
But till I try I'll never know**

_Too long I've been afraid of  
_**Losing love I guess I've lost  
**_**Well if that's love  
It comes at much too high a cost!**_

Every single member of the Glee club was smiling uncontrollably at this point.

_**I'd sooner buy  
Defying Gravity  
Kiss me goodbye  
I'm Defying Gravity  
I think I'll try  
Defying Gravity  
And you won't bring me down**_

_**I'd sooner buy  
Defying Gravity  
Kiss me goodbye  
I'm Defying Gravity  
I think I'll try  
Defying Gravity**_

Rachel reached out and took Kurt's hand smiling at him.

_**And you won't bring me down  
Bring me down!**_

Kurt cut out to let Rachel sing the last vocalizing of the song. There was silence for a minute before the Glee club erupted.

"That was fantastic guys!!" exclaimed Mr. Schue. "The harmonies were amazing and Rachel you were right your voices blend together wonderfully!" Rachel just smiled.

"I'm sad we can't use it at Sectionals," said their teacher.

"What?" exclaimed Mercedes.

"Why not Mr. Schue?" asked Artie. Kurt looked down.

"You guys know I'm gay," he said. "And I'm not ashamed of that. My dad isn't ashamed of that either. But I'm doing this for him. He got a phone call from someone calling me a fag and it hurt him really bad. If we go and sing this at Sectionals those phone calls will only get worse."

Rachel hugged Kurt as the Glee club was silent.

"Why don't we have a concert for just friends and family?" said Finn. Everyone looked at him shocked.

"That's a great idea Finn," said Mr. Schue, only slightly sounding shocked.

"What? I have good ideas," Finn protested.

"You want to name our baby Drizzle," said Quinn, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a good name!" The Glee club broke up laughing.

"Ok guys. Let's get to work on the wheelchair number," said Mr. Schue.

* * *

After their practice, Puck walked up to Mr. Schue.

"1200 bucks," he proudly proclaimed putting the money in their teacher's hands. "That's enough for the short bus _and_ two cases of Natty Light for the ride home." Everyone started laughing and clapping.

"Ah. Dream on brother," said Mr. Schue in response to the second half of Puck's comment.

"I'm very proud of you guys," he continued. "Artie. Why don't you bring this to Principal Figgins yourself."

Everybody started clapping again. Tina's smile was by far the widest. But Artie didn't seem as excited.

"What's wrong dude?" asked Finn.

"I really appreciate what you guys did for me," said Artie. "But I'm not the only kid in a wheelchair at this school and I'm sure there will be others after I graduate. And I know how important it is for all of us to go to Sectionals together but I think I'd rather just get a ride from my dad and use this for a handicap ramp in the auditorium."

Mr. Schue smiled proudly. "Any objections?"

"Well it sure beats having to carry him in everyday," said Finn and everyone laughed.

A little while later Artie came back telling Mr. Schue that they got their bus after all. Mr. Schue frowned asking why but all Artie would say was to talk to Principal Figgins. Nobody really cared what was going on, they were happy Artie would be able to come after all. Soon everyone had left and it was just Tina and Artie.

"Hey Tina," he said. "Since its just us… Do you want to go on a date?"

She smiled widely.

* * *

That night Rachel and Noah were sitting on his coach.

"So what was your big idea earlier today?" he asked.

"Oh! I forgot to tell you," she said pulling her bag towards her and taking an envelope out.

"You know how this afternoon I asked you to drop me off at my house I had a few things to do?" He nodded.

"Well I called my dads. I told them about Quinn."

"You told your dads one of your friends is pregnant," he repeated while inside he was freaking out. _Shit! I thought I was going to have to deal with Rachel. What are here dads going to say when they find out! Shit!!_

"As you might imagine Noah, my dads are very open minded. They feel bad that she has to hide her baby from her parents because they won't approve. Of course that was part of my plan, to get them to feel sorry for her."

"Rachel," he said sitting up slightly. "What did you do?"

"Well I had wanted to take it out of my savings but my dads insisted that it comes from their savings since they make a fair amount of money, they have enough." Noah's eyes flicked down to the envelope.

"How much?"

"Well I was going to give her the money just to pay off the sonogram but I hadn't realized how sorry they felt for her. It's $2000."

"Holy fuck Berry! Your parents have 2 grand just laying around so they can give it to a girl you just became friends with after her making your life hell?" She frowned.

"I thought you would approve."

"I do but damn Rachel that's a lot of money."

"She's going to need it," she replied. He smiled at her.

"But I need your help," she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't think she'll take it from me. She doesn't want my pity or something. I figured if you gave it to her it would make more sense since you and Finn are best friends. I mean they might make you godfather so…"

"Yeah I can give it to her," he said. She smiled.

"Thank you Noah."

* * *

The weekend went slowly for Noah. Rachel's dads had come home for the weekend and she spent the whole time with them. It made him realize how much time they were spending together recently. It was really nice to see her Monday morning.

"You have fun with your dads?" he asked

"Yes I did," she said smiling. "It was nice to see them again." As they were walking into school, Artie rolled past them.

"That was odd," said Rachel. "He normally says hi." Noah could see the anger lurking under the surface of the usually care free Artie. His eyes immediately started searching for Tina. He didn't see her but when they got to Rachel's locker, he decided to go actively look.

"Hey Rach, I have to go take care of something. I'll see you later ok?"

"Ok Noah," she replied, digging in her locker. He found Tina at her locker. She looked up at him and almost burst into tears.

"Choir room. Come on," he said and she followed him. When they reached the room he closed the door and turned to her.

"After you guys had left on Friday, he asked me on a date," she said softly. "We didn't do much. Clowned around, sang along to some music, and then we had a wheelchair race. He beat me," she laughed slightly.

"I got up and kissed him. He was really happy…"

"Then you told him," said Puck. She nodded.

"He got really upset. Said that he never tried to push people away like I did since the chair did it for him. He said he thought we had something really special in common. As if my stutter made me, me! I told him I was sorry and he just looked at me and said that he was sorry too, that I got to be normal and he would have to be in the chair the rest of his life and that wasn't something he could fake and just left," she said sniffing wiping the tears away.

"I tried calling and texting all weekend and he hasn't said anything! I don't understand!! I told him the truth. He's the first one I've told." She saw him raise an eyebrow. "You figured it out, doesn't count. And he does like me! I know he does!! You don't smile like that after someone kisses you if you don't like that person!!"

"I don't know what to tell you," said Puck. Tina just shook her head.

"Nothing you say _can_ help," she said before leaving. He paused and thought about that. Nothing he could say huh? He smirked and left the room.

* * *

Puck went looking for Quinn right before Glee that afternoon. He saw her at her locker, walking away from him.

"Hey. Wait up," called Puck. Quinn hesitated before stopping.

"I cracked open the piggy bank," he said pulling out a small wad of cash. "It's for you. Well it's for it."

"It is a she," said Quinn. Puck almost smiled.

"Cool," he replied. There was a silence.

"Look Puck this is really sweet but-"

"I know you think I'm a screw up. Most people do because I think school's for suckers. But I got ambition." Quinn cut him off before he continued.

"Finn is your best friend."

"I'm not asking you what you think I'm asking you," he said. "I got this money to help the baby. I'm going to be a good dad, but I don't want to be with you." Quinn chuckled.

"You want to be with Rachel."

"I have to tell her Quinn. And I don't care if you don't want me to. I'm telling her. Just felt I should give you a heads up." He braced himself for the epic bitch fest he was sure he was about to endure but Quinn just nodded.

"I was expecting it to be honest." He looked at her in surprise. "I tried hating her. Even after she's tried to help me without ulterior motives. But I couldn't. I was selfish. I saw how you two interacted how you were so sweet when you two went out and I wanted that for me. Wanted both you and Finn to help out," she said putting a hand on her belly. She could see anger flame in his eyes but he stayed silent.

"But after the… incident I just felt horrible for everything I've said to her and done to her. And I saw how you two interacted. The night before Mike got hurt it just all hit me. I was trying to take you away from her so I could have two supports, when really she was the one who needed all the support. I know you guys must still look at me suspiciously for the turn around to helping her but I couldn't explain it because…" Puck nodded.

"You still have a long way for me to go before I can trust you, especially after what you just said," he said honestly.

"I understand. You don't have to give me the money anymore. I don't know how much it is but it must be your life savings."

Puck looked down. "It's not my money." Quinn looked confused.

"It's from Rachel and her dads." She just looked at him completely shocked.

"She didn't think you would take it from her so she asked me. Since I'm Finn's best friend you'd be more likely to take it from me." She looked like she was about to cry.

"I don't deserve her friendship."

"But she's given it to you," he replied pressing the money into her hand.

"I'm sorry," she said suddenly.

"For what?"

"I never should have called you a Lima Loser. You're not." He smiled at her and began to walk away.

"Puck?"

He turned back to her.

"If she… If it doesn't turn out right… I'm sorry," she said sincerely. His face softened slightly.

"Thanks Quinn."

"Hey," they both heard. Puck continued walking off but had recognized Finn's voice. He looked back to see them talking before he continued on to practice. By the end of Glee, even Mr. Schue had realized something had happened between Artie and Tina. His voice was hard and not as smooth as it normally was and she was just quiet. Puck had slowly begun to finish up his plan. He knew that both Tina and Artie had a free period right before lunch. That would work perfectly. Well it had to. They were doing a complete run through of their wheelchair number the next day with costumes and everything.

* * *

The next day, before third period started Puck walked up to Tina.

"Hey I need your help. I know you have a free period now." She shrugged.

"Sure. But why are you talking to me about your feelings about Rachel?" He froze for a split second.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I need help to find some grease for my wheelchair but I'm too lazy to search the whole janitor's closet by myself."

"You're lucky I know you aren't insinuating that we have sex or I'd konk you one," she said. He rolled his eyes. The janitor's closet was actually fairly big. About half the size of a classroom. When they got there, Puck pulled out a key and unlocked it.

"You go that end, I do this end?" he asked. She shrugged and went further into the room. He quietly snuck out the door before shutting and locking it.

"Puck?" she called. "What are you doing?"

"Doing you a favor," he replied chuckling.

"By locking me in the janitor's closet? I don't think so. Let me out of here so I can kick you in the balls," she demanded.

"Charming," he said with a raised eyebrow. "I'll be back with someone else to keep you company."

It wasn't hard to find Artie. He was on stage singing. He stopped when he saw Puck.

"Wanna talk?" asked the football player. Artie shrugged.

"Why not?" He rolled off the stage and Puck met him at the door that led directly onto the stage.

"Tina and I went on a date Friday," said Artie.

"I'm guessing it didn't go so well," said Puck, hiding what he knew.

"Well it mostly went great. She even kissed me," he said, and Puck saw his face light up.

"But then she told me her stutter was fake." Puck acted shocked.

"That she's been faking it since 6th grade, because she didn't want to give a report." As they walked, in Artie's case rolled, Puck began taking him in a certain direction.

"What did you do?"

"I left," he said.

"What? Dude you've been into her as long as I've seen you."

"She lied to me," said Artie flatly.

"You were the first person she told the truth to," said Puck.

"That doesn't change the fact that she lied." Puck rolled his eyes.

"Then think about this. You said she started in 6th grade?" Artie just nodded.

"Don't you think that it's even the slightest bit wacked out that she faked something for that long? Sounds like something seriously fucked up to me. She's confident enough to wear the clothes but not to tell another lie like speech therapy or some shit fixed her?" Artie looked up at him, shocked that Puck had gone this far in depth in the thinking.

"I guess you're right," admitted Artie reluctantly. "But still. I thought we had something special in common." Puck groaned.

"So standing up for each other and taking slushies all these years isn't special?" Artie stayed quiet and Puck stopped walking. Artie frowned when he heard a banging.

"What is that?" he asked. Puck smirked before walking over to a janitor's door.

"How ya doin?" he said into the door.

"Puckerman!!" came an outraged voice from inside. "You let me the hell out of this fucking closet right now!!" Puck just chuckled.

"She has a mouth doesn't she? It's always the quiet ones." Artie's eyes widened and he rolled over.

"Is that Tina?" The smirk on Puck's face widened.

"Yep," he said and in one swift movement he had opened the door and pushed Artie into the small space. Tina fell backwards onto her butt as she tried to get out of the way. Artie tried to turn around quickly, his eyes on the football player.

"Puck! What are you doing?!" he demanded.

"Work it out now man," replied Puck simply before shutting the door swiftly. Both Artie and Tina heard the lock click and they looked towards each other. Puck had just locked them in the janitor's closet… Fuck.

* * *

I really love that last line. It just really amuses me haha. So yeah I know I said this was going to be the second half of Wheels but it got to long so I stopped it here. I'm also having a little trouble of getting Tina and Artie's talk in the closet to be perfect. (No not perverted lol)

Ok this is only a guess I'm not positive if it will be in the next chapter but Noah telling Rachel about the baby may come next chapter. I have it written already. It's been written for a while lol. Also Nate will start coming back in the next chapter. You saw a little of him in this chapter but I really want to start having him sneak into more rehearsals. Well they know he's there he's sneaking from they hockey team lol.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!!! Thanks for all the reviews, favs, alerts, and hits I've gotten!!!!


	23. Chapter 22

Yes I'm aware this is a very short chapter. I'm uploading this small a piece because this is basically what I have written since I last updated. I didn't want to just post an Author's Note because even if it is for a good reason I don't want to get your hopes up for a chapter, so this is a way of having an author's note without making you guys angry.

* * *

After a moment of looking at each other in mutual shock at their situation, Tina looked away. She also discretely moved away from him, pulling her knees up to her chest. She couldn't look at him. She would just start crying again. He rolled over to the door and tried the handle but the door didn't open.

"How did he even get keys to the janitor's closet?" wondered Artie. Tina paused before shuddering.

"We probably don't want to know." Artie winced as he began to think about it.

"Yeah you're right." He turned around. When he saw her, he paused. She had her knees hugged up against her chest, but she was wearing a skirt. The fabric had moved, giving him a look at quite a bit more of her legs than he was used to. He blushed fiercely before tearing his gaze away. As he began to get his blush under control he remembered something. He looked back to her, keeping his eyes fixed on her head.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked and she looked to him slightly shocked.

"When Puck pushed me in here," he continued slightly coldly. "You fell are you alright?" He saw the disappointment wash through her body as she slumped down and looked away.

"Yeah." It was just like Artie. Angry at her but still nice enough to wonder if she was hurt or not… And all it did was make her hurt more. A silence fell. Artie pulled out his cell phone and sent off a text. He quickly got a response. He scoffed at it before putting his phone away.

"Looks like the whole Glee club is in on this," he said. She didn't respond. He felt bad. He knew he had hurt her, but she had hurt him more. She was normal now. Without the stutter, people would start looking at her closer. They would start to see the beautiful girl he knew was there. Why would she stay with him? The cripple in the wheelchair. He looked back over to her. She had laid her head on the top of her knees, looking away from him. Quite a while passed in silence. He heard her take a deep breath. He braced himself for what he thought was coming.

"I don't understand why you're mad at me," she whispered. He winced. It would have been better if she stood up and started yelling at him.

"I know I lied but I told you the truth. I was so shy but you helped me become more confident. You're the reason I told you that I was faking. No one else knows. I'm sorry. I've apologized so many times… Wh-why are you i-ignoring me Artie? W-why are you so mad?" He felt anger tear through him when he heard hear stutter but it flew away as he saw the shaking of her shoulders and realized that it was caused by her crying.

"You're normal now."

"Nobody's normal Artie. Kids without disabilities aren't normal. Kids with them aren't weird or flawed or anything like that. Everybody is different. Some people's differences are a little bit more noticeable that's all."

"I saw past your differences. Now that the big one's gone who's to say someone else won't?" Her head jerked up off her knees, but she didn't look at him.

"What?" she whispered. Her brain was working over time.

_He couldn't think… Could he be that blind?_

Artie shut his mouth. He had said too much. He had to stay angry at her, but he was having trouble remembering why he had to do that. If they stayed best friends, he wouldn't have to worry about losing her. So why was he angry at her? If he stayed angry they wouldn't even be best friends anymore. He looked down at his hands confused. Why had he been so angry at her?

_Because you don't want to be just friends with her…_ a voice whispered in his head. Well of course he didn't. She was beautiful, funny, wonderful, anything you could think of. She liked him now. But what about when normal guys started noticing her? How could he compare?

"Artie," came her voice. "Look at me," she begged. "Look at me and tell me you aren't angry because you think I'm going to leave you." He looked up. She was looking at him, her eyeliner ruined and running down her face. He looked away.

"You stupid, moronic, foolish boy!" she yelled, standing up and marching over to him. Artie looked back at her stunned and as he looked up at her she leaned down and kissed him. This wasn't like the first kiss they shared. Hesitant, gentle, sweet. This was desperate. She was desperate to show how much she cared for him. He finally gave in and began kissing her back, desperate not to lose her. She moved closer, putting her knees outside his legs and straddling him as best she could in the chair.

"Tina!" he gasped, breaking the kiss in shock at her forwardness but she just captured his lips again.

"I'm not leaving you," she whispered against his lips. "Ever." His hands came up to weave in her hair as hers moved from his face down to his chest. He was so well built, years in the chair developing his upper body. He groaned and gently prodded open her mouth with his tongue. Their tongues hesitantly met before beginning a slow dance together. She moaned as he pulled her closer.

Then they heard the lock click and the door swing open. They both turned their heads to see Puck looking at them slightly shocked, before his face transformed into a smirk.

"I'll just leave you two alone then." Tina rocketed off of Artie almost falling in the process. Both their faces were bright red.

"We weren't doing anything," she squeaked. Puck swallowed a chuckle.

"Yeah. And Beyonce's secretly making out with Brittany."

"I most certainly am not," came Kurt's voice. "That's disgusting," he said as he came to stand by Puck. His jaw swung open as he took in Artie and Tina's swollen lips, their red faces, and her slightly messy hair.

"Dear Prada in heaven, it's about time!" he cried before grabbing Tina and whisking her off to the girl's bathroom. Puck finally burst out laughing.

"Your face man! Priceless," he howled. Artie looked away, beyond embarrassed. Puck began to calm down.

"Come on. We need to start getting ready for Glee," he said. Artie nodded and rolled out of the closet. They began walking.

"So. My guess is you said something that let her realize you were angry at her because you were afraid she'd leave you and she decided to prove that she wouldn't leave you." Artie stopped rolling shocked. Puck just smirked.

"Dude I knew why you were angry before I even locked you in there."

"Then why'd you do it?!" yelled Artie angry.

"It's more amusing," said Puck shrugging. "Plus you'd never admit it unless you were in a situation you couldn't get out of. Have to admit didn't think it would take that short a time though." Artie glared at him.

"You'll thank me one day."

"Yeah right," muttered Artie.

"I don't think I have to warn you about what happens if you hurt her." Artie looked at him.

"You of all people are worried about me hurting her." Puck shook his head.

"Nope. I'm just making sure to get this out of the way so if you do hurt her, Jones knows I'm on her side." Artie went slightly pale.

"Hey look on the bright side, any time you need the key in the future I'll hook you up," said Puck, with a smirk on his face. Artie blushed and rolled away as fast as he could, Puck's laughter following him.

* * *

I'm happy with this. I wrote it the day after I updated last time. Since then I've been dealing with sinus pressure headaches which get worse when I practice my instrument, changing weather that makes playing on my reeds a pain in the but, upcoming tests, exams, hearings, and midterms, and to top it all of a lack of inspiration _and_ motivation. I'm not going to get the next chapter out any time soon if this keeps up. I hope this little Artie/Tina bit will satisfy you until I'm able to continue writing. Now I won't be gone that long I'm hoping no more than another week but I just can't write right now. Sorry guys. See you next time.


	24. Chapter 23

Ok really really short chapter **_BUT_** at the end you get a preview of what's coming up in future chapters as well as a few spoilers. So stay tuned!

* * *

After all the girls (minus Santana) had grilled Tina and squealed over what they heard, they all began to get ready for their dress rehearsal. Quinn walked over to Rachel and hugged her.

"Quinn?"

"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you and your dads…"

"Noah told you?" she asked. Quinn nodded.

"But that much money…"

"Dad and Daddy wanted to. You're welcome to come over any time and they'll explain it to you, as long as they're in town." Quinn smiled at her.

"I know I don't deserve your forgiveness for what I've done to you before, but I'm sorry. Could we be friends?" Rachel smiled.

"Of course Quinn." The blonde smiled before going to Kurt to get her makeup checked to make sure it was done properly. Rachel left the room and went out on stage to prepare for the rehearsal. She was surprised to see Noah there already. She smiled at him. He smiled back realizing Quinn had talked to her. People began entering and soon they were ready for their performance of 'Proud Mary'. The music started and they quickly fell into a wonderful performance.

* * *

After the music stopped they were all laughing and trying to pat Artie on the back or give him high fives. They all looked around when they heard another person clapping other than Mr. Schue who they realized had given them a standing ovation. From the back of the auditorium Nate came forward, a smile on his face but in absolute shock at how good they were.

"Wow guys. Just wow," he said. Everyone smiled. Well Santana didn't really. Brittany had told her about Nate so she knew about him but other than that she didn't care. Mr. Schue smiled at the hockey player.

"Guys that was amazing. A few small things could be improved on but I'll leave that to next rehearsal," he said before gathering his things and leaving. Nate headed up to the stage as everyone put their wheelchairs away. Santana left after that and Brittany followed her, throwing an apologetic look over her shoulder.

"Thanks for the heads up earlier," said Puck. Nate smiled.

"It's no problem. I'm going to try and keep an ear out from now on to see if I can't help you guys avoid that kind of stuff." Kurt pulled out his cell phone.

"Tell us your number and we'll all text you our numbers," he said. "That way you can get in touch easier." Nate shrugged and rattled off his number. Within a minute everyone had his number saved and had sent off a text with their name in it. Nate opened the first one he got.

_Kurt  
3 you. ;)_

"Kurt heart you wink?" read Nate confused, his body language screaming how awkward he felt.

"It's how I sign all my texts," said Kurt waving a hand, not even bothering to blush at the misunderstanding. "It's built into the text."

"Oh," replied Nate. A few of the guys snickered at his predicament before sobering as they all remembered the first time they got a text from Kurt and thought the same thing as the hockey player.

"I just remembered," said Nate suddenly. "You guys know Karofsky's being punished right?" Everyone nodded.

"Well it's this weekend. Saturday. He's being made to volunteer at the women's shelter." Rachel's eyes lit up.

"That's wonderful! There's no way the stories there won't make him realize what he did is horrible." Noah looked at her.

"I've volunteered there before," explained Rachel. "Actually now that I think about it, hearing those stories may have made me even more scared when… it happened." Noah placed his arm around her shoulders instinctively.

"I didn't even know we had a women's shelter in Lima," said Tina.

"Some deadbeat dads don't leave their families," said Noah coldly. "They stay around and beat up on them." Rachel snuck her arm around his waist, squeezing slightly.

"Alright change of subject," said Kurt clapping his hands, before the mood could get even more depressed. "Party my house. Saturday. Everyone better be there. That includes you Nate."

"Why me?" he asked confused. Everyone rolled their eyes.

"I'm pretty sure we've had this convo before," said Mercedes. "Or have you taken one too many checks into the boards to remember your our friend now?" Everyone laughed as Nate ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. After extracting verbal promises from everyone Kurt was satisfied and everyone started to leave.

"Hey Tina," called Artie. She turned smiling at him.

"I figure I should ask this so we don't really have any questions," he said smiling a little awkwardly. "Would you be my girlfriend?"

A burst of giggles were heard off stage before shushing noises were heard. Tina rolled her eyes.

"Of course Artie." He smiled wider and they walked off stage, completely ignoring Kurt, Mercedes, Quinn, and Rachel who had been spying on them. They pouted for a little bit, upset they hadn't seen the two kiss before shrugging and leaving the auditorium as well.

* * *

AN: Ok yes I've been gone for a very long time. I had spring break last week and I finally feel like I'm getting back to being inspired again. A lot of positive things have happened and I'm really confident with where my life is going so that always helps as well. I'm not promising anything about future uploads its coming up on the end of my sophomore year so I'm still busy. But anyway on to the previews and spoilers!!!!

First off; Karofsky in the woman's shelter will not be part of this story. It will be a seperate one shot. When I upload it I'll post a link in the next chapter here. I have two completely different story lines for it and I can't decide between the two. I may upload both not too sure.

Second; Next chapter will be the party at Kurt's house. Whoo!!! It's gonna be a lot of fun, seeing Nate some more, and a dangerous game (for Rachel at least) of Spin the Bottle Truth or Dare.

Before I get into the Ballad storyline, Rachel will find out about the baby and Noah will be the one to tell her but that's all your getting from that.

In the Ballad storyline Noah sings a ballad but not to Mercedes, his ballad partner. Here's a little spoiler.

_"That was amazing Puck!" said Mr. Schue. "I didn't know there was an acoustic version of that song."_

_"That's because there isn't one," replied Puck._

_"You mean you arranged that all by yourself?"_

_Puck shifted awkwardly. "It wasn't that hard. The chords are on the internet."_

_"But the introduction?"_

_Puck looked down. "Yeah I wrote that myself," he muttered embarrassed._

Also in the Ballad storyline: Brittany sings a special ballad to Santana that will change everything.

In the Hairography storyline Nate confides something personal to Kurt who convinces Nate to tell the whole Glee club.

In the Mattress storyline Nate's secret, as well as his chumminess with the Glee club, gets out to the rest of the school and his hockey player teammates but not in a way you'd imagine. And Nate pays for it.

Also in the Mattress storyline Mike and Rachel work together to set two people up but their efforts prove worthless.

_"He's trying to ignore the crush he has on her." __A smile spread across Rachel's face._

_"I happen to know she's trying to do the same thing with her crush on him." Mike looked at her, a smile on his face now too._

"_No kidding," Mike said happily._

_"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Rachel asked a sly smile on her face._

_"Maybe," he replied a smirk on his. _

And then of course in Sectionals, Finn finds out about the baby, but not in the way the show did. Nate goes to sectionals for Finn, not Jacob. And by the end, Nate joins the Glee club to the (secret) delight of one of its members.

After sectionals the two people Mike and Rachel tried to set up before deal with a series of incidents which almost ends in a heartbreaking way.

_Rachel had explained to Mike and Puck what was going on._

_"She thinks it's her fault he was slushied and so she's avoiding him for what she thinks is his own good."_

_They both just looked at her._

_"You're shitting me Rachel," said Puck. She let the swearing go. She was too worried._

_"She has to be blind to not see how much he's hurting," said Mike._

* * *

Well that's it for the previews and spoilers. Though I am planning on introducing another OC to join the club after Nate joins because when he does they'll have an odd number and I just want to even it out. Before I go there is one more thing I want to tell you guys about.

_I am promoting something I just signed up to do, and it would be amazing if any of you could help out with this cause. A reader of mine and of a lover of Glee FF, truelovepooh (aka Pooh or Stacie), is battling ovarian AND breast cancer without medical insurance. The group "Support Stacie" is a way for them to help raise money for her medical bills. I was asked to be a part of the Author Auction taking place on March 26-29th._

_How it works: On those days, any member of the forum (anyone can join at www . supportstacie . com) bids on an author and at the end of the auction, the winning bidder sends in their money and gets a one-shot written by me, especially for them._

_My actual auction offer can be found here http://www . supportstacie . com / phpBB3 / viewtopic . php?f=25&t=2102 (sorry for the spaces)_

_Some other favorite Glee authors on this site are taking part in the auction as well. I know of Going Vintage, SapphireEJ, mag721, and diva . divine off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are others._

_All Glee auctions can be found here: http://www . supportstacie . com / phpBB3 / viewforum . php?f=25&sid= (again, sorry for the spaces!)_

_If you would like me, or any of the authors I mentioned, to write a fic for you and you're willing to bid on us, I hope you will take a look at the forum and consider taking part in this auction. If you don't want to take part, that's absolutely understandable, but I'm sure Stacie would appreciate your thoughts and prayers!!  
_

_Together we can kick some cancer butt!_

_Thank you!_

(Thanks to Mag721 if your reading this I hope you don't mind I stole your whole thing and copy and pasted it to here lol)


	25. Chapter 24

*hangs head* Yeah... its been a long time... School got crazy... decided to switch my major (still within music program)... got home started work (hate the job but pays really well) and... didn't really want to do anything. This chapter is short mainly because I still have no idea why I even decided to have a party. Well to get everyone closer to Nate but that could have just been done in a quick review of time passage... oh well. Anyway good stuff starts after this chapter.

Also finale last night? Epic.

Except for the relationships... Finnchel and Quick? Seriously?

But anyway on to the chapter

* * *

Saturday slowly began to roll around. Noah and Rachel were day by day becoming inseparable. However despite how much they both loved being around each other, they knew that Rachel needed to start trying to get back some independence. After the disaster of when he left her alone the one night, they experimented with him not sleeping in the same room as her. The first night Noah slept in the guest bedroom but woke up the next morning with Rachel curled up against his chest and his arm tucked around her protectively. By the time Saturday had come around they had succeeded in moving Noah down to the couch in the living room. She was worried the sofa wasn't comfortable enough but he assured her it was. It was only a little bit of a lie. Sure a bed would have been better but as couches go it was pretty soft.

Of course he couldn't always stay over because of the different shifts his mom worked but when he did have to stay at his house, she would come along.

As for the hockey team, with Nate's help not one person had been slushied. The hockey team was apparently getting very upset that they were failing so often at throwing slushies. Which of course amused the Glee club to no end. Mike was healing up as well as could be expected but was still pretty stiff a lot of the time and was kept from dancing the way he wanted to. He was down a lot of the time because of it. He never complained though. Nate had become very protective of Rachel. But not for the reasons Puck was. The girls and Kurt had decided that Nate must have accepted Rachel as a sister of sorts. Nate was also getting much more comfortable with being accepted so quickly by the Glee club.

All in all it was a great week. Puck and Rachel arrived at Kurt's house in a great mood and walked in to see Mercedes singing along to the radio with Matt dancing. Mike was dancing as best he could but was obviously still frustrated with himself. Santana was standing off in a corner with Brittany apparently trying to get her involved with the festivities. Quinn was sitting with a hand on her stomach laughing at something Artie had just said. Tina and Finn were smiling as well. Nate walked in after Puck and Rachel.

"It's about time you got here," said Kurt appearing in front of them. "The pizza's coming soon and I wanted to play some party games before we ate."

"Like what?" asked Rachel. Kurt smirked.

"Spin the bottle Truth or Dare! Everyone plays or you don't get to eat," he called out. Everyone groaned.

"I say no dares to kiss someone even if they are dating," said Tina.

"But none of us have seen you and Artie kissing," protested Kurt, pouting.

"I have," smirked Puck. "And let me just say I had no idea two people could fit onto a wheelchair like that." Kurt's eyes almost bugged out of his skull as Tina and Artie blushed fiercely while throwing glares at Puck.

"I think I agree with the no kissing dare rule," said Nate, laughing slightly.

"Fine," pouted Kurt. They all sat down around the table and Kurt got out a bottle.

"My party I go first," he proclaimed, spinning the bottle, eyeing Rachel. She fidgeted slightly. But she knew the odds of the bottle landing on her were slim on the first spin. Unfortunately luck was against her as the bottle slowed to a stop pointing at her. A smile spread across Kurt's face.

"Truth or Dare Rachel," he said gleefully.

Rachel looked at Kurt, her eyes wide. Either way she picked, she was screwed. She picked truth he would ask if she loved Noah. She picked dare he would make her do something with Noah.

"Truth?" she blurted out, not even realizing what she was doing. Kurt's smile widened. Puck looked indifferent but was actually very interested in seeing how this turned out.

"Do you love Puck?" he demanded. Rachel froze. She was expecting the question but still…

"Yes," she blurted. Before she could take in the reactions she blurted on. "I love all my friends."

"That's cheating!" accused Kurt pointing at her.

"No its not," retorted Rachel. "You asked if I love him and I do. I just didn't answer the question you wanted me to answer which is if I'm in love with him. It's your fault you didn't ask that specifically." Puck snorted.

"She's right you know," he said to Kurt while still trying to recover from the rush he felt when she said yes and the down he felt when she clarified. Sure it's great to hear she loved him even if it's just as a friend but…

Kurt pouted. "Fine. It's your turn then Rachel." Rachel spun the bottle and it landed on Mercedes.

"Truth or Dare Mercedes," she said.

"Well I doubt you could come up with a good dare," joked Mercedes. "So Truth." Everyone laughed.

"Ok umm," thought Rachel. "If you were going to be stuck on a desert island and you could only choose one girl or Kurt and one guy to go with you out of the Glee club. Who would they be?"

"Kurt and Matt," she said without hesitation. "Kurt is a no brainer and Matt so when I'm singing I can have a back up dancer." Everyone laughed. "I doubt you guys would be able to find another male soprano in this school but you'd still have Mike to dance with you," she continued laughing. The game continued, coupled with a lot of laughter. The funniest was the dare made to Nate. He had to answer the door when the pizza guy came and cluck every other word.

While they were eating Beyonce's 'If I Were a Boy' came on the radio. Mercedes turned to Kurt.

"You better have this song for karaoke."

"Of course," replied Kurt. "Would you even doubt?" He pressed a few buttons and the radio shut off.

"All yours. Just press play," he said before going back to his pizza. Everyone smiled as they watched Mercedes walk up to the stereo. A few were still eating.

"I call next," said Rachel happily. Mercedes began to sing, demolishing the song.

"Dude…" said Matt after the song to Mike as they were all clapping.

"Yeah…" replied Mike. "Crazy."

"Crazy awesome." Nate snorted hearing their interaction. Their reaction was well worth it. Mercedes was amazing but he still found the two quite funny. Rachel bounded up to the stereo and began singing Kelly Clarkson's 'I Do Not Hookup'. Puck's eating slowly stopped as he watched Rachel sing, to the amusement of the people around him. She had no idea that this choice of song would be so... relevant. At least that's what he knew. She knew exactly what she was singing. As the high point of the bridge came her eyes fixed on his as she sang,

"Cause I feel the distance between us  
Could be over with a snap of your fingers!"

Then her eyes moved and she began dancing. Of course he wrote this off as performance. (Despite the many parts of him that wanted to believe otherwise.) Eventually everyone was involved singing. Rachel snuck a glance at Noah who was dancing with Mike and Matt and made a decision. This time Monday night everything would be different.

* * *

Next chapter has been what you've been waiting for ;) Puck spills. Promise I won't be that long. You can keep me to that. And thanks to all the wonderful people who sent me messages over this hiatus saying how much they loved the story and wanted to see it updated. See ya soon.


	26. Chapter 25

So I was planning on uploading this on Saturday. However that depended on me writing on Friday... Yeah totally lost track of time playing the sims 3 then after work saturday I didn't want to do anything except watch some ESPN and go to sleep. So here it is. A day later than I wanted but I'm sure none of you are complaining after how long it took me to update the last chapter .

The confession about the baby was written months ago when I first had this idea. Yeah its been sitting in my comp that long just waiting to get out. I'm quite proud of it. :) Hope you guys like it.

* * *

Sunday was spent watching tv. Noah took the early half of the afternoon trying to teach Rachel the rules of football. But after the millionth time of Rachel complaining about the violence of the game, ("It was NOT a million times Noah! And the game IS brutishly violent!"), he gave up and they just watched movies. As Rachel fell asleep she remembered how her sitting in his lap was now normal and the soft but supporting touch of his hand on her back, sometimes playing with her hair. She drifted off with a smile on her face.

* * *

She woke the next morning sick to her stomach. She quickly realized that she wasn't sick but just questioning her decision. As she thought about it while exercising on her elliptical she realized it was the first time she had ever questioned a decision she had made. Probably because she had always thought everything out, even made a pro and con chart a couple times.

She was scared that her decision to invite Noah over that afternoon and ask him out would fail.

She didn't really want to sit down and think out her decision either because she was pretty sure that would just end up in her not asking him out and despite the nerves gnawing at her stomach… She really did want to ask him out. She was still thinking things over when Noah arrived to take her to school. After asking her if she was ok and getting a vague 'yes' he left her alone. He knew better to bother her when she was thinking something out, and he really didn't want to get a whole explanation of what she was thinking. When they got to school, Rachel hopped out of his truck.

"See you Noah," she said before dashing off into school. His eyes followed her, and he began to feel curious about what she had to be thinking about. He quickly squashed the feeling. Curiosity killed the cat or in this case would kill his ears. So he just forgot about it and headed to his first class.

Meanwhile Rachel had headed straight to Brittany's locker. Unfortunately Santana was there too. Rachel quickly spoke before the Latina could say anything nasty.

"Can I talk to you Brittany?" Brittany simply closed her locker and grabbed Rachel's hand before pulling her away, leaving Santana fuming back at her locker.

"Please tell me he asked you out," said the blonde cheerleader after they had gotten to a fairly deserted part of the school.

"No," replied Rachel. Then she fidgeted slightly. "But I kinda want to ask him. I was going to invite him over this afternoon and ask him. But-"

"No buts. And don't ask him. Just kiss him," said Brittany. "It will say everything."

"But what if it doesn't work?" Brittany fixed Rachel with a look.

"It will work."

"But-"

"No buts!" exclaimed Brittany. The bell for the first class rang.

"You invite him over after this class, but don't be suspicious," she instructed before leaving. Rachel simply nodded before heading to her class.

After the class she went to Noah's locker. He glanced over and seeing that she wasn't distracted figured she must have smoothed everything out.

"Hey," he said. She smiled slightly.

"Hey I know we weren't planning on doing anything this afternoon but would you want to come over after school?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied, though he was freaking out inside. That wasn't just a normal invitation. She was fidgeting slightly and she wasn't really looking at him. Shit…

"Great," she said with a smile. "See you then."

As he watched her walk away, (he swore she was swaying her hips more than usual. Fuck she was going to...), he felt his stomach flutter. _Oh hell no!_ Those better not be butterflies. The Noah Puckerman does not get wimpy girly things like butterflies. Everyone knows the school food is whack. There must have been alien eggs on something he ate and now they're hatching and little baby aliens are jumping around his stomach trying not to die from his stomach acid. There. That's why his stomach feels weird and he's kinda nervous. What if one of the aliens gets into his bloodstream or something and the next thing you know he's a zombie? Perfectly logical reason to be nervous. Has absolutely nothing to do with Rachel inviting him over. Nope nothing.

…Besides even if it _was_ butterflies, which it WASN'T(!), he would have a good reason. Anyone would be scared to death about telling a girl who clearly had invited them over to put the moves on that they were the father of another girl's baby. In fact it was badass if he only had butterflies…. His eyes narrowed.

He didn't have butterflies. And that was final.

* * *

The rest of the day went way too fast for Noah and way too slow for Rachel. The ride home felt awkward to both of them but they convinced themselves they were just imagining it. When they got to her house she smiled.

"Let's go do our homework up in my room." Noah nodded and followed her up. He cursed the fact that he had sworn to himself he would tell her before any relationship started. He was also marveling at the fact that when Rachel wanted something she went for it full force. Neither of them had that much homework although she did help him a little with his math homework. (Don't look at him like that. He was still skipping the class… Yeah... totally wasn't skipping the class.) Well because of the help both of them had ended up on her bed.

"Hey Noah?" she asked. He turned to her. She began moving towards him. He began leaning towards her too but before they could kiss, he pulled away slightly.

"Rachel wait," he said before he lost his nerve. She withdrew quickly obviously upset.

"I'm sorry Noah. I thought that you wanted-"

"I do!" he said quickly. "And for you to be my girlfriend everything."

_Wow. Smooth dumbass,_ he thought to himself as he saw her hurt look replaced by a confused one. However despite her outwardly confused look she was actually quite happy. He wanted her to be his girlfriend.

"Then why-"

"I have to tell you something." She still looked confused.

"I don't understand. Why now?"

"Because once you hear it you may not want to be with me anymore." Rachel nodded, though he could see her eyes were guarded. He sighed trying to decide how to say it. He saw her getting impatient and it all came blurting out.

"It's my baby." He winced as he saw the hurt invade her eyes and when the tears began to well there too all he wanted to do was move over and wipe them away but he just sat there. The silence grew between them, every second she didn't say anything tearing at his heart. Eventually he couldn't stand it and stood up ready to leave.

"Wait Noah," she said quickly. He turned, but he didn't dare to have any hope.

"Please give me time to think about this. You can wait downstairs if you want. I'll try not to take too long." He simply nodded and left her room. It was already more than he expected but he was still afraid to hope that she would still want him. He didn't know how long he sat down there alone with his thoughts. Then she appeared and sat on the couch, not next to him, but not extremely far away either.

"I want to explain all of what I just thought. Is that ok?" He nodded.

"I'm upset," she said. "But I realized I'm more upset that you're going to be having a baby with Quinn, than the fact it's yours." She could see he was confused so she continued.

"Quinn gets _everything_. When I wanted Finn, she had him… and now when I had you and wanted you… I find out she has you too…" She felt the tears forming in her eyes.

"I don't love her," he blurted out but she just smiled.

"I know. I think I've known since the day on the bleachers when I broke up with you. I realized as you walked away I had been wrong to assume that you loved her. You had been focused on the baby but I couldn't figure out why. I came to the conclusion now that you love the baby and want to be there for it and that's why you were always looking at her." He just nodded confirming what she had thought, but there was a small smile on his lips. She had read him well enough to know that he didn't love Quinn and had figured out exactly how he felt.

"I have no problem with the fact you want to support your baby, in fact I find it very wonderful of you, but I had to consider the fact that you had lied to me and the rest of our friends." She saw him lower his head, jumping to a conclusion so she quickly continued on.

"I quickly realized that while you did hide the truth, in the moment that you could have continued to hide and just allowed me to kiss you, you told me the truth, even knowing I could reject you." She saw his head snap up, his eyes unreadable.

"Rachel… what are you saying?"

"While I am not happy that Quinn is carrying your baby, it happened before you and I, and you told me the truth. I tried hating you like I'm sure you expected me to… but… I can't." She smiled at him. "Against what many people would say was my better judgment… I still want you Noah." Silence rang for a second and then his lips were on hers, kissing her so passionately, she had to break away fairly quickly to regain her breath.

"Oh god thank you Rachel. Thank you," he breathed. She just smiled and held him, knowing she had made the right choice.

"Thank you Noah," she said right back before kissing him back.

"You should have kicked me out," he said the words spilling from him when they broke apart again. "You should have yelled. You should have gone bat shit crazy."

"My brain wouldn't work," she said which was partially true. Her brain had shut down for a moment from the shock and hurt she was feeling. But what she had only thought was true before she knew now was unequivocally true. Even after he had told her the baby was his all she wanted to do after her brain started again was to hug him and tell him everything was going to be ok.

Because she loved him.

It was undeniable now. To hear him say that to her and to feel the hurt and the anger… and to still look at him and want to be with him seconds after his admission… She was in deep and she knew there could be huge consequences. She wasn't naïve enough to believe that they would definitely work out and get married. The possibility was there but come on, they were still in high school. She knew the possibility of huge heartbreak in the future. And God knows what she would have to go through, all the rumors she would have to deal with, when people found out about the baby and that she stayed. She had forced herself to think about her choice. Had forced herself to send Noah downstairs even when he looked so heartbroken she wanted to cry. But nothing she tried to tell herself or force herself to feel hid the huge feeling in her heart for him.

She was in love with Noah Puckerman.

"But when it started again I realized you deserved for me to think it through before jumping to a conclusion," she said hiding the truth. She couldn't tell him that. Not yet. She would scare him away… He might not even believe her. She felt herself melt at the look he was giving her. So thankful and caring. He leaned in and kissed her again. This wasn't like the others, hot and passionate. It was soft and gentle and made her feel like she was going to dissolve. After a long slow kiss he pulled back slightly. They sat there just looking at each other.

"Thank you," he finally said, running a gentle hand through her hair before tucking it behind her ear. She smiled.

"How long have you wanted this?" she asked, the smile still on her face.

"A while," he admitted after a moment. "I guess it all started that day… though it was for a very different reason then."

"What was it?" she asked though she was pretty sure she knew what the reason was.

"I wanted…" he hesitated, still not as comfortable sharing his feelings (especially mushy girly ones). "To protect you." She smiled and kissed him.

"I waited this long because I was afraid what I was feeling was just because you saved me." Noah looked at her trying to hide the slight freak out he was having. He hadn't even thought of that.

"It's not," she promised. "I think I would have kicked you out when you told me about Quinn and the baby if it was just because of that." He calmed down, realizing that was very true. Then he paused.

"Rach?" he said slowly.

"What is it?" she asked worried.

"You really think Quinn gets everything?"

* * *

And before you ask yes this chapter was cut off. It was going to be longer but it quickly got too long haha.

I'm going to go into the ballad storyline pretty soon after I wrap up the Puck/Rachel beginning of relationship

I heard the song 'I Just Haven't Met You Yet' by Michael Buble twice on the radio today and have decided to give it to one of the characters to sing. However I'm not sure when I'll be able to fit it in simply because its not one of the main main characters (Rachel, Puck, Finn, or Quinn). (Also not someone who has a significant other so no Artie or Tina lol)

The next update may not be for a while I work a lot this week -.- I'm usually pretty grumpy after work because its a part time job at a deli. I'm going to college for music. The only reason I have the job is because it pays well. I'm getting 9.03 an hour. I'm paying my way through college so I can't complain. Well... I do complain. A lot. But... you know lol

Hope you liked the chapter!

OH! I forgot a lot of you have been asking me about the one shot I promised about Karofsky visiting the women's shelter. That's on hold right now until I finish questioning myself and rewriting it . I think I have the woman he's going to meet nailed down. I was originally going to have him meet a little girl but i think I went way too shocking with it so i changed it. I'm still not sure when you'll see it but I haven't forgotten about it.


	27. Chapter 26

so I wasn't expecting to be able to update this until Tuesday but I've had a lot of ideas about it lately mainly about how to continue the story through the back 9 episodes. I've got a pretty solid idea of how to integrate the Jessie storyline but I'm pretty sure you guys aren't gonna like it lol No she is not going to cheat on Noah and I know a lot of you were thinking that.

Next chapter will start the 'Ballad' storyline but don't expect it before Tuesday. I'm working 8 hours tomorrow, 8 hours Saturday, 3 hours Sunday and I forget how many hours on Monday... either way no updates until at least Tuesday lol. Well enjoy!

* * *

_**Last time: **_"You really think Quinn gets everything?"

* * *

Rachel gave him a sad smile.

"I'll tell you everything I'm thinking but you can't say anything until I'm done." He nodded reluctantly. She took a deep breath before beginning.

"She had Finn. And I had got it in my head that me and Finn would be perfect for each other. But it appeared he wasn't going to leave her. She was just so pretty and thin and I wasn't so… I tried to make myself throw up." She saw him sit up straighter ready to lay into her but she just held up a hand.

"You promised." He grumbled and slouched back down, but she could see he was tense.

"You don't have anything to worry about. Miss Pillsberry caught me and sat me down to have a talk. It wouldn't have mattered anyway I wouldn't have done it again because…" She caught herself.

"Well that doesn't matter," she said. Revealing she didn't have a gag reflex wouldn't be the smartest thing right now. She was nowhere near ready to do anything sexual yet. She knew it would be a while and she didn't want to make it any harder for Noah than she already knew it would be. She continued.

"That's why I joined the celibacy club to try and get him to see me. That obviously didn't work. Well it did sort of, but only because of the speech I made before I left. I was the one who came up with the 'Push It' idea and choreography." He found himself smirking at her. That dance was hot. But then his smirk fell because despite the fact that she had choreographed that crazy hot dance all he could see was her dancing with Finn.

"Then he asked me to help him with his voice so I jumped at the chance. I had set up some food and drinks on the stage for when we would take a break. I gave him some virgin Cosmo and I had some too. He leaned over and brushed some off my lip. I said 'You can kiss me if you want to' and he said 'I do want to' and then we were kissing." His hands clenched as he felt anger sweep through him.

"But then he pulled away. I thought I had did something wrong. He said no then told me not to tell anyone and ran away." His anger was increased doubly.

"Then Mr. Schue wanted to give the 'Don't Stop Believing' solo to Quinn. It was my solo. She was getting everything," her voice broke slightly. His anger broke and he reached out for her hand.

"Then Quinn and the Cheerios tried to turn me against Mr. Schue, trying to destroy the Glee club. Which made Finn mad at me. I was kind of happy at that because I was angry and upset with him. But then the Dakota Stanley fiasco and then we were back on the same page. But I got upset and left for the musical. Finn offered to run lines with me and I jumped at the chance. This was about the time April showed up…" He nodded. He didn't want to think too much about that time. She obviously knew what had happened and he didn't want to upset her.

"Then Finn told me I should take some time away from everything and took me bowling. It was almost like a date and at the end he let me kiss him. The next day I found out about the baby. He was using me so he could get a scholarship for music so he could support Quinn and the baby. I slapped him." Noah felt himself grinning wildly at that.

"He told me that the kiss really meant something but I knew he was just trying to make it better. But then I saw April and all of you in the first number at the Invitational and I knew I couldn't stay away even if I was still upset with Finn. Then when I offered he stood up for me and the hope came back." He felt the anger slowly come back.

"Then the whole mash up fiasco. We were talking more. Then Sue came. I got to sing with Finn again. I even gave Jacob a pair of my underwear to keep him from publishing a story that Quinn was pregnant." A large sound of outrage erupted from him. She gave him a pointed look and he reluctantly fell silent again.

"Quinn told me to back off Finn but I was angry because I knew she and the Cheerios were moles but I still tried to help her see that she had friends in Glee. But then the story came out and I felt horrible for even trying to get Finn because she was so upset. She gets everything and I couldn't even hate her for it. And that's really everything… Because then you and everything that happened."

"Does Jew-fro still have your underwear?" he growled. She rolled her eyes.

"No. Sue Sylvester confiscated them." He felt confusion wash across his face but he pushed it away. He took her face in his hands.

"You are the most wonderful, beautiful, caring person I have ever met, crazy and all," he said with a small smile.

"And if you tell anyone I was that mushy with you, I will dump you," he continued, the classic Puck smirk on his face.

"You really think I'm beautiful?"

"And sexy, slammin', anything else you can think of babe." Then he winced cursing himself for using that again.

"You know I don't mind that you call me babe," she said. He sighed deciding to explain it to her.

"It's what I would call… the others," he said. "And I don't want you to think that you're anything like them." She smiled at him.

"I know I'm not Noah. You've made that clear plenty of times."

"Are you sure?" he said. "I don't want this to come up once a month and you're accusing me of just using you and-"

"Noah I'm sure," she said giggling slightly. "Besides… I kind of like it when you call me it," she finished blushing. He smirked widely.

"Well then I'll just have to start calling you that huh babe?" he asked, laughter in his voice. She smiled at him. He pulled her onto his lap.

"Promise me you'll never try and make yourself throw up again," he said. "You're beautiful and don't let anyone else tell you anything else." Her smile widened and she leaned in for a long slow kiss.

"I promise," she told him after they broke apart.

They spent the rest of the night watching movies and making out. As she sat in his lap watching the tv she couldn't help but think… Here she was, sitting on his lap, so similar to the days before but so different now. She snuggled closer to him. Sometimes change was nice.

They walked into school the next day holding hands. It didn't take long for their friends to figure it out. They were accosted by Kurt after first period.

"Do you have any idea how long you two have waited for this to happen? I thought my hair would turn grey before you would." Rachel giggled while Noah rolled his eyes. They got quite a few congratulations from Artie, Tina, Mike, Matt and Mercedes. Brittany squealed and hugged Rachel.

"I told you so," she said. Noah raised an eyebrow and Rachel blushed.

It was towards the end of the day when Quinn nervously approached Rachel when she was by herself.

"Rachel I…" she mumbled looking down. Rachel hugged her.

"I'm not mad Quinn." Quinn just looked shocked. Rachel smiled.

"I can't be mad at every girl Noah's ever been with. I'd be mad forever." Quinn chuckled slightly.

"Don't let him hear you say that. He'd probably beat himself up." Rachel nodded.

"I was afraid you might want your money back," admitted Quinn. Rachel looked shocked.

"Quinn even I was mad at you and Noah I would in no way want to take it out on your baby. That would be foolish and irresponsible." Quinn smiled.

"Thanks Rachel."

Noah and Rachel walked out of school, arm in arm. All in all almost everyone was happy for them.

"I didn't see Finn today," said Rachel. Noah just shrugged. He wasn't going to tell her about the glares he'd received from the quarterback. He was pretty pissed Finn was still hung up on his girlfriend. He had a mix of emotions whenever he used the words 'his girlfriend'. One the one hand, he wanted to just grin goofily. On the other hand, he was terrified he was going to mess it up or not be good enough. It wasn't a big secret that he had been with a lot of girls and women. What if Rachel came to her senses and told him she didn't want him anymore? He slipped his arm out of hers to wrap it around her waist and pulled her close. Rachel wasn't going to do that. If she could deal with the baby she could deal with the women. Everything would be fine. She smiled up at him and he smiled back. He continued smiling even as he looked up.

_My girlfriend…_ he thought happily.


	28. Chapter 27

So short chapter but I figured you guys would want this now instead of half a week from now. This isn't where I wanted to end it but I'm not gonna have a chance to continue writing until next Tuesday. Hope you guys enjoy this ^^

* * *

The next day in Glee, Mr. Schue began writing on the white board.

"Ballad," he said as he underlined the word he had written. "From Middle English 'balade'. Who knows what this word means?" Kurt and Rachel raised their hands but before Mr. Schue could call on them Brittany spoke up.

"It's a male duck." Everyone looked at her oddly before Mr. Schue called on Kurt.

"A ballad is a love song," said Kurt.

"Sometimes. But they don't always express love. Ballads are stories set to music, which is why they're the perfect storm of self-expression. Stories and music are the way we express feelings that we can't get out any other way. Okay now sectionals are in a few weeks. And there's a new rule this year. We have to perform…" He pointed to the board. "A ballad."

"Looks like my weekly letter to the Ohio Show Choir Committee finally paid off," enthused Rachel. Noah just raised his head. She may be his girlfriend but she could be pretty crazy about certain things.

"Okay so here's our assignment for the week. I'm gonna pair you off, and I want you to pick a ballad to sing to your partner. Look them right in the eye, find the emotion you want to express, and make them feel it."

"I pick Quinn," said Finn.

"No, no, no, no, no," said Mr. Schue. "Too easy. Your partners will be chosen by fate."

Everyone 'oooh'ed.

"Ooooh yeah. I put all your names in this hat. Whoever you choose is your partner."

"I bet that duck's in the hat," whispered Brittany to Santana.

"But Matt's out sick today," said Santana. "He had to go to the hospital because they found a spider in his ear." Mr. Schue grimaced.

"Wait is he gonna be ok?" asked Mercedes.

"I don't know," replied Santana, slightly rudely.

"Well I guess I'll just have to put my name in the hat for now," said Mr. Schue. "Who's up first?" Noah stood up and walked up.

"Mercedes," he read off.

"All right," said Mr. Schue.

"Quinn," said Artie after he rolled up and picked a name.

"Kurt," said Finn, clearly uncomfortable. Kurt looked rather excited about it.

"Mr. Schue, I don't know if I can do this with another guy," said Finn.

"The fates have spoken Finn," their teacher replied.

"Other Asian," said Tina. Mike's face fell slightly at the nickname into a slightly suspicious look. Did Mr. Schue even know his name?

Santana chuckled as she pulled the name out of the hat. "Brittany." The blonde cheerleader gasped happily before standing up and clapping.

"How fitting," said Mr. Schue.

"Looks like I get you Mr. Schue," said Rachel walking up to the piano.

"Uh. You know what? Maybe we should just wait until Matt gets back," said Mr. Schue, after a slight pause.

"The fates talked Mr. Schue," said Finn, causing the others to laugh.

"Would you mind clarifying what kinds of songs you want us to sing?" asked Artie.

"Why don't you let Mr. Schuester and I demonstrate?" suggested Rachel. "Brad, 'Endless Love' in B flat please? It's my favorite duet."

"Hell no," grunted Puck before Mr. Schue could answer. "You've made me listen to that song before and you aren't singing it with Schue." There was a pause. "No offense Mr. Schue."

Their teacher just smiled at him.

"It's quite alright Puck. I don't think it's an appropriate song to sing either." Puck saw Rachel open her mouth to protest and he just stood up. It shocked her.

"I have a ballad." Everyone's jaws dropped and they heard a clatter. Kurt had literally fallen off of his chair. Mr. Schue looked shocked for a moment before a smile spread across his face.

"Go ahead Puck."

"I know my partner's Mercedes but can I sing to Rachel this time?" he asked going over to get his guitar.

"What are you going to perform?" asked Mr. Schue, giving him the permission.

"You guys will figure it out," replied Puck. "It's something I want Rachel to know and I think the rest of the Glee club feels the same." He expected to hear some snickers but to his surprise he didn't. He began to play. He saw the confused looks on many faces. He smirked slightly. Of course they wouldn't recognize it. It was a rock song. It had been a power ballad but he had taken the power out of it. Acoustic guitar throughout, an added introduction, and just singing it with a softer feel than the normal rocker edge the song had.

_Time is going by, so much faster than I  
And I've started to regret not spending all of it with you  
Now I'm wondering why I've kept this bottled inside  
So I've started to regret not telling all of it to you_

_So if I haven't yet  
I've gotta let you know_

He saw Mike and Artie break out into grins as they recognized the song. He knew Finn recognized it too but he wasn't looking as happy about it. As Puck led into the chorus he realized Mike and Artie had started to open their mouths. He hoped to provide accompaniment. He was right.

_You're never gonna be alone from this moment on  
If you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fall  
You're never gonna be alone  
I'll hold you till the hurt is gone_

The first tear had already begun to trickle down Rachel's cheek. Tina leaned over and grabbed Rachel's hand before pulling her over to a chair. Mr. Schuester was smiling and exchanged a glance with Brad the piano player. The rest of the Glee club began harmonizing in the background while the next verse began.

_And now, as long as I can, I'm holding on with both hands  
Cuz forever I believe that there's nothing I could need but you  
So if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you know_

Finn had begun to sing along but was looking towards Quinn who looked quite happy about the fact he was singing it to her. However Santana looked like she could either puke or scratch out Rachel's eyes.

_You're never gonna be alone, from this moment on  
If you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fall  
When all hope is gone, I know that you can carry on  
We're gonna take the world out, I'll hold you till the hurt is gone_

Noah looked up and locked eyes with Rachel, who was crying, during the instrumental break. He gave her a little smile before continuing.

_You gotta live every single day  
Like it's the only one  
What if tomorrow never comes_

_Don't let it slip away  
Could be our only one  
You know it's only just begun_

_Every single day  
May be our only one  
What if tomorrow never comes?  
Tomorrow never comes_

Noah pulled back the volume of his playing as the first verse came back, and the Glee club cut out for a moment.

_Time is going by, so much faster than I  
And I've started to regret not telling all of this to you_

Noah took a little longer break to smile widely at Rachel, who smiled back, letting out a few happy laughs.

_You're never gonna be alone, from this moment on  
If you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fall  
When all hope is gone, I know that you can carry on  
We're gonna take the world out, I'll hold you till the hurt is gone_

_I'm gonna be there all the way  
I won't be missing one more day  
I'm gonna be there all the way  
I won't be missing one more day_

_You're never gonna be alone_

As Noah finished, he added the last line before ending the song. Rachel launched herself out of the chair at Noah, who barely got his guitar out of the way before hugging her. The rest of the Glee club clapped enthusiastically.

"That was amazing Puck!" said Mr. Schue. "I didn't know there was an acoustic version of that song."

"That's because there isn't one," replied Puck.

"You mean you arranged that all by yourself?"

Puck shifted awkwardly. "It wasn't that hard. The chords are on the internet."

"But the introduction?"

Puck looked down. "Yeah I wrote that myself," he muttered embarrassed.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed Noah," said Rachel looking up at him, wiping away the tears on her face. "It takes a lot of creativity to write that even if you have the chords already."

"She's right Puck," said Mr. Schue. "Fantastic job." The bell rang and everyone began to leave.

"Thank you Noah," said Rachel. Noah smiled sheepishly.

"It wasn't exactly supposed to happen in the middle of Glee though," he said.

"Really?"

"Well I wasn't gonna sing like the whole song but yeah…" he admitted. She kissed him.

"You know it almost means more that you were planning it even before. Thank you," she said before leaving. Noah smiled after her, before the smile fell as he felt his phone buzz. As he pulled it out he sighed. He should have known the song wouldn't have chased her off but only made her more insistent. He deleted the sext without even reading it. Santana probably wouldn't give up. Actually he knew she wouldn't give up after the look on her face earlier. He wondered if he should tell Rachel before pushing the idea aside. He wasn't going to reply to the sexts and he didn't want to worry Rachel at all. It would be ok.

* * *

Don't worry, Rachel only left that quickly cuz she had a class. The ballad storyline will continue next time, we'll see how much the song really did mean to Rachel and some more Puck/Rachel hee. See ya next time!


	29. Chapter 28

I know, I know, I'm a horrible person. I need to update more regularly, you'll stop following me if I don't etc. etc. I'm sorry. Over the summer I took a well deserved break from everything. (Other than work cuz i need the money for college) But as I was reading through some of my old stuff I found that my inspiration for this story is no longer bone dry and I've written some scenes for further in the future as well as finished this chapter. I have decided not to promise consistent updates anymore since I have so often broken those promises but I do promise to work on this when I do get the inspiration for it. I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

* * *

Rachel felt like she was walking on air the rest of the day and soon the school day was done. She met up with Noah and soon they were in his truck, heading for his house. While silent on the trip, they held hands and occasionally exchanged glances. When they go to Noah's house, they headed up to his bedroom to work on their homework but the minute Rachel got through the door, she dropped her books, turned to Noah, burst into tears and hugged him to her.

"Oh God," he said holding onto her. "What is it Rach? What happened?" he asked frantically.

"I'm just so happy," she said and felt him relax. "I know you were embarrassed in school so I waited until we got home to let go and tell you all this." Noah chuckled slightly.

"Maybe you should have just told me then."

"I'm sorry for scaring you," she said pulling away. "Noah… I cannot describe to you how it makes me feel that you prepared a song to show me how you felt. A song to help make me feel better. And you sang it so well." He leaned down and gently kissed her.

"Like I said, I didn't plan on it being in the middle of Glee but at least this way everyone knows exactly how I feel about you." Rachel buried her face in his chest as her heart swelled. They stood there for a long time before she pulled away.

"Can I go use your bathroom to wash my face?" she asked. He nodded with a smirk.

"You don't have to ask you know." She just smiled and left the room. He slowly sat down on the edge of his bed. While their conversation hadn't been that long or even had that many words in it, he fully and completely realized how much that small thing of performing a song meant to her. He felt amazing, to know that something he had thought of had worked out so perfectly.

So when his phone buzzed he didn't even think before opening it and reading the text he had received. His happiness turned to blinding anger in an instant. How dare she invade this moment? His fingers hit buttons angrily and the sext disappeared. He tried to take deep breaths to calm himself down but his anger exploded.

"Dammit all to the fucking bowels of fucking hell! Why can't she leave me alone?" he roared throwing his cell phone at the floor. He growled when it just bounced, not breaking at all. He glared at it when he heard a soft voice.

"Noah?" His head snapped up and there standing in the doorway was Rachel, a deeply concerned look on her face.

"Who are you talking about?" She saw the wall start to go up in his eyes.

"Please Noah? I want to help."

"You'll just get angry," he replied.

"I didn't get angry when you told me about the baby. Why is this different?"

"Because it is," he said looking away.

"Noah-"

"Santana's been sexting me ok? For weeks! And I can't get it through her dumb bitch head I don't want anything to do with her!" he exploded. Rachel's jaw dropped and her eyes went wide.

"You've been ignoring sexts from Santana…"

"Yes. Why don't believe me?" he bit off.

"I do believe you," she replied simply and softly. "But you have me when you could have her. She's popular and pretty and-"

"No, no, no don't you start that," he said gently, his defensiveness and anger dissolving away as he reached out for her hand. She walked closer to him and he pulled her close.

"You are worth thousands of Santana. I don't care about what people have told you but they're wrong. You're just as sexy as she is. You _are_ sexier than she is. You're more beautiful than her and you're a hell of a lot nicer than her."

She sighed. "I guess I have been letting what people say affect what I think of myself. I mean I know I'm not ugly-"

"Who called you ugly?" he demanded.

"I thought you just said you didn't care what people said to me," she said with a small smile.

"I changed my mind. Who?" Rachel just kissed him. He sighed.

"I just got so angry. I was so happy because you were so happy and she had to…"

"I understand Noah," said Rachel, and because she did, she let the subject drop.

"Let's get started on our homework," she said with a smile.

* * *

The next day at school, Rachel slipped away from Noah in between classes and approached the last person she wanted to willingly talk to. Santana's cold eyes regarded her disdainfully.

"You need to stop," said Rachel.

"Ordering me Man Hands? You better-"

"You need to stop sexting my boyfriend," repeated Rachel. Santana smirked.

"Finally found out huh?"

"Yes. Noah told me." Santana's face fell into an angry scowl but before she could speak, Rachel continued.

"You gave up your chance with Noah. He doesn't deserve the stress you're putting on him. You need to stop. Steal my clothes, continue drawing pornographic pictures of me in the bathrooms, slushy me, just leave him out of it," she said before leaving. Santana gaped after her.

"You aren't going to do those things are you San?" asked Brittany walking up, having heard the last part of the conversation.

"Maybe," growled the Latina.

"She really loves him to protect him like that," said Brittany, watching Santana, who didn't respond before stalking off.

Puck was waiting in the choir room, already slightly angry. First, he hadn't been able to find Rachel in between classes. While Finn had made the football players stand up to the hockey team, actually not that difficult since most footballers thought the hockey players were too cocky anyway, he still found himself worried when he didn't get to see her in between classes. On top of that Mercedes was late. He finally heard her voice as she approached the room.

"…hot damn mess. I found out today my hamster is pregnant in biology class and I just started weeping." Puck raised his hands in annoyance before letting them fall back to his hips as he watched Mercedes continue her conversation and he seriously considered ripping the phone out of her hands.

"No, no. I think that's a great idea," she said.

"We're supposed to be rehearsing," he said testily, and if he had stopped to think about what he was saying, he'd probably scowl. Look at him being the responsible one.

"I'm talking to Tina," replied Mercedes, looking at him like he was the one being rude and he almost blew his stack.

"I'll hit you back," said Mercedes, letting her phone fall. "This is bad, dude. All our ballads are terrible 'cause we're so distracted. We're all worried about Finn and Quinn and 'babygate'. We can't even sing about our emotions 'cause we're so worried about theirs."

"Who cares?" groaned Puck, ready to walk out of the room right then, but knowing he'd probably run right into Rachel who would make him turn around and go back.

"Um, we all do," said Mercedes, slightly surprised by his reaction. "So we decided we're all gonna sing them a ballad to show that we got their backs."

"Are you kidding me? There's no way I'm singing to them." He groaned. "It's not fair! Finn gets everything. He gets the sympathy. He usually gets the girl."

"What is your problem?" demanded Mercedes. He just glared at her and after a moment she winced in realization.

"Man I'm sorry Puck, I forgot." He didn't say anything and his glare never wavered. Her face went serious and she walked towards him.

"Look. You need to get something through your Mohawk real quick. Rachel chose you and from where I'm standing that's not changing anytime soon."

_If at all,_ Puck thought to himself.

"So Finn is a little jealous. Yeah I've seen him looking at Rachel, but he is still there helping Quinn as best he can with their baby. Rachel doesn't need any added stress knowing that you're holding a grudge against Finn because he can't seem to shake her. You owe her at least that much." Puck lowered his head and Mercedes turned and left seeing he was going to at the very least think about it but knew he would show up at the next group rehearsal for the FinnQuinn ballad. She had dealt a low blow by bringing Rachel into it, but it was partly true. If Rachel found out what Puck was feeling right now, she'd try to fix it and that could lead to nasty things. Puck sighed before leaving and just as he thought, ran into Rachel.

"Noah," she said with a smile. "I thought you had rehearsal with Mercedes."

"Well Mercedes said that all of us are gonna ditch the individual ballads and sing a group ballad to show our support for Finn and Quinn," he said.

"That's a wonderful idea!" said Rachel, her eyes lighting up. "I know Quinn will appreciate the gesture immensely." Puck just grunted.

"Are you ok Noah?" She paused. "Santana didn't…"

"No," he replied, as he put his arm around her shoulders. "Just feeling off today." Rachel nodded and got up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"Well feel better Noah," she said before rushing off to her next class.

"I think I already do," he said under his breath with a small smile before sauntering off.

* * *

The next chapter will wrap up the Ballad storyline and by the end of it, we'll have a new official couple :D Hope you guys liked the chapter. Oh yes disclaimer since I have copied dialog directly from the show.

I don't own Glee.

Hope you loved the chapter. See you next time!


	30. Chapter 29

Ok here comes the final parts of the Ballad storyline. I'm very happy with how the end of this came out heehee. I hope you guys like it!

* * *

After school that day, Brittany and Santana had head over to Brittany's house, like they usually did. But Santana was in a grumpy mood and wasn't talking much. So after a prolonged silence in Brittany's room, the blonde spoke up.

"Hey San?" said Brittany. "Can I show you my ballad?"

"We aren't doing those anymore," replied Santana, still pissed about Rachel standing up to her earlier that day. "We're singing a big togetherness ballad for Preggers and Mr. I-Arrive-Early, remember?"

"Well I got mine all ready and its good and I wanted you to hear it…" said Brittany, clearly upset at Santana's tone. The Latina softened, turning to Brittany.

"Hey I'm sorry Brit. Rough day. Let's hear it," she said with a smile, putting aside her worries for the moment. A real smile spread across the blonde cheerleader's face and she hurried over to her computer before some music came rolling out. She turned back and began to sing.

_They read you Cinderella  
You hoped it would come true  
And one day a Prince Charming would come rescue you_

_You like romantic movies  
And you never will forget  
The way it felt when Romeo kissed Juliette  
And all this time that you've been waiting  
You don't have to wait no more_

Santana's jaw had dropped as she slowly recognized the song. And the way Brittany was looking at her… Could she really? Brittany smiled and flew into the chorus.

_I can love you like that  
I would make you my world  
Move heaven and earth if you were my girl  
I would give you my heart  
Be all that you need  
Show you you're everything that's precious to me  
If you give me a chance, I can love you like that_

"Brit stop," said Santana, her voice shaking slightly. Hurt immediately flashed across Brittany's face but she stopped singing and went over to her computer and shut off the music. Santana saw her shudder before turning to face her.

"Brit… I…" At her hesitation, something seemed to firm inside Brittany and she spoke up.

"I meant everything I sang," she said, her voice slightly hard. Santana just gaped at her so Brittany continued.

"San I know you say it's just sex but we could be more than that."

"Brit-"

"You're going after Puck because he stopped paying attention to you like you wanted. I don't think you love him. Am I right?"

"Yeah but Brit-"

"I know you don't really want to hurt Rachel. She loves him you know?" Santana lowered her head.

"I know," she whispered.

"You think I didn't notice we started having sex when Puck started to pay less attention to you? Actually it was when Quinn got pregnant so everyone stopped paying as much attention to you." Santana flinched.

"I'm sorry Brit. I just want-"

"I know San," said Brittany smiling at her. "I can give that to you."

Santana looked at her, the beginnings of hope starting to spring in her eyes.

"I can love you like that," sang Brittany. She walked closer to the Latina. "It's not just sex to me anymore." Santana kissed her. Brittany smiled and kissed back, her arms coming around the girl she had come to love. But when Brittany started to deepen the kiss Santana pulled away.

"Brit can we take it slow please?" she asked before barreling on. "I know we've already had sex and everything but I don't want to rush this and every other relationship I've been in we rushed everything and nothing lasted and-"

"San!" said Brittany. Santana stopped rambling.

"It's ok," said the blonde with a smile. "I'm actually really happy you want to take it slow." Santana slowly smiled and laid her head on Brittany's shoulder.

"You're going to apologize to Rachel and Puck tomorrow," said Brittany. Santana flinched but sighed.

"Yeah. I guess I am…"

* * *

The next day, Brittany had to drag Santana over to Puck and Rachel. Seeing them coming, he had put a protective arm around his girlfriend's shoulders which made Brittany smile.

"San has something she wants to say to you." Santana sighed, looking away before looking back to the couple.

"I'm sorry for sexting you Puck. And I'm sorry for how bitchy I've been since… the incident. I just…" She trailed off, not wanting to admit to either Rachel or Puck how selfish she had been. Rachel smiled but Puck looked at her suspiciously.

"Why the change of heart?" he demanded. Rachel elbowed him but his strong gaze didn't falter.

"I got shown the truth," said Santana eventually looking to Brittany who smiled. Puck's eyebrows flew up. Rachel caught the vibe after Brittany took Santana's hand.

"Are you dating?" she asked. Santana blushed while Brittany nodded extremely happily. Rachel smiled.

"Apology accepted Santana. I hope you two are happy." Santana offered Rachel a real smile before leaving. Though she couldn't fight the smirk when she heard Rachel chiding Puck for something he had surely said about girl on girl. They passed Kurt who immediately doubled back.

"It's a little easier being out as two girls, but if you need any support I'm here," he said winking at Brittany who giggled. Santana just stared after the male soprano.

"How did he know?"

"He's known I was in love with you before I did," said Brittany. "He helped me with the song." Santana looked to Brittany before smiling.

"Looks like there's a few more people to add to the Cheerio's 'Don't mess with' list," she said, causing Brittany to kiss her briefly. As they walked off, the entire male population was staring at them. Santana smirked. Attention and love. She looked to Brittany. Yeah life was good.

* * *

Later that day, Rachel had dragged Quinn to the choir room and sat her down on a chair facing the rest of the group minus Finn, Kurt, and Mercedes. Quinn was pretty quiet and Rachel knew that the ballad couldn't come at a better time. It had already started spreading through the school that Quinn's parents had kicked her out. Rachel had wanted to say or do something to try and cheer Quinn up, but couldn't think of anything that would work. So she had dove into preparing this ballad, knowing it would help her more than any words or actions could. Matt was still absent and all the Glee club had sent him 'get well' texts. Mercedes in particular had been the one to give them all updates on how he was feeling, which Kurt adored but everyone else was just happy that Mercedes and Matt were friends and that the football players really did care about the Glee club and the people in it. They had known before but every reassurance of that fact was wonderful in itself.

A little while later the door opened and in came Kurt, Mercedes, and Finn. Mercedes was chiding Finn.

"Open your eyes. I didn't tell you to close your eyes."

"Is there a cake?" asked Finn. Puck rolled his eyes. He was here for Quinn and that was all. He was happy that Rachel hadn't figured out how he felt about Finn. Mercedes had been right. She didn't deserve that added stress.

"No, there's no cake," replied Mercedes. "Be quiet. Sit down." As Finn did, he looked to Quinn who just raised her shoulders.

"Do you know what's going on?" Finn asked her. She just shook her head.

"Your fellow Glee Club members want to sing a song for you guys," said Mr. Schuester as the rest of the Glee club stood up. "To let you know how they feel about you."

"Uh, what are you gonna sing?" asked Finn looking to Quinn.

"Just listen," said Rachel with a smile. "The song says everything." Mr. Schuester walked away and gave them a cue. The Glee club began to harmonize together. The smile that spread across Quinn's face warmed all their hearts. Artie began to roll forward.

_Oh no.  
Sometimes in our lives  
We all have pain  
We all have sorrow  
But if we are wise  
We know that there's  
Always tomorrow_

Mercedes stepped forward and began singing with him as the Glee club harmonized behind them and began dancing a little. Finn had reached over and taken Quinn's hand.

_Lean On Me  
When you're not strong  
And I'll be your friend  
I'll help you carry on  
For it won't be long  
Till I'm gonna need  
Somebody to lean on_

The song kicked in now and Santana, Brittany, Rachel, and Tina who had been in the back moved forward.

_Just lean on me  
Call on me brother (Hey!)  
When you need a hand (When you need a hand)_

Everyone was getting into it now, Finn smiling warmly and Quinn beginning to laugh. Mercedes began to step forward and take the lead again.

_We all need somebody  
To lean on_

Artie overlapped her towards the end with a 'Someone to lean on'.

_I just might have a problem (Just might have a problem)  
That you'll understand_

Brittany pulled Rachel into a hug. They both had who they loved now. Both girls smiled giddily as they continued to sing.

_We all need somebody  
To lean on_

Artie began to vocalize again and lead the group into the next part of the song.

_If (If)  
There is a load (There's a load)  
You have to bear (You have to bear)  
That you can't carry  
I (I am right up the road)  
Am right up the road  
I'll share your load  
If you just call me_

The group began to repeat the lyrics 'Call me' with Artie and Mercedes improvising over top of them all. Kurt separated slightly from the group and stared right at Finn and mouthed 'Call me'. Finn did a mini double take and his smile faded slight and turned awkward. All of a sudden Nate was standing behind Finn and Quinn, smiling, one of his hands on each one's shoulders. Quinn was crying by now. Noah gave her a soft look as he sang 'Call me'. The group finished together on a big 'Call me' and Mercedes began to vocalize.

_It won't be long  
Till I'm gonna need  
Somebody to lean on, lean on, lean on me!_

She ran forward and pulled Finn and Quinn out of their chairs and everyone began to dance, Nate coming to join them. It was a wonderful part of the song, overlapping voices all singing 'Lean on me' with Mercedes improvising over top. Finally they began to come to the end of the song.

_I'm gonna need  
Somebody to lean on  
I'm gonna need  
Somebody to lean on_

The group hit the final chord with Artie and Mercedes vocalizing over top. Then the chord changed and Mercedes stunned them all with a wonderful power note. The song ended and everyone was laughing and hugging each other.

"Nice to see you Nate," said Mr. Schuester as he walked up to the group. Nate smiled.

"Yeah I may not have performed the song with the rest of these guys," said Nate to Finn and Quinn. "But it goes for me too." Everyone laughed and hooted as they moved closer almost in a group hug.

"So are you an unofficial Glee clubber now?" joked Finn.

"I think I'm more like a groupie, showing up at rehearsals and following you around," joked Nate back which sent everyone into fits of laughter.

"Well hey awesome job guys," said Mr. Schuester gathering his things together. "Be sure to lock up the room when you're done." The group all smiled at him as he left. But quickly the party-like atmosphere returned as they all started talking again.

While everyone was talking and laughing, Santana pulled Puck aside. He eyed her suspiciously. She sighed.

"Ok. I deserve it. But I'm seriously sorry." She looked over at Brittany and Puck relaxed slightly.

"So what do you want then?"

"To warn you to watch your step," she said fiercely looking back to him. "You wanna know what your girlfriend did after you told her I had been sexting you?" Puck shook his head, confused and slightly worried.

"She came to me to tell me to torment her instead of you." Puck froze in shock.

"What?" Santana just looked at him.

"What?" he repeated.

"She's growing on me," admitted Santana. "And that told me a lot about her. Watch your step Puck," she warned again. "You hurt her…"

"I'm not going to," bit off Puck, his eyes flashing. "And I'm sick and tired of people accusing me that I will." Santana nodded her eyes going to Finn, knowing what Puck was thinking.

"Just stay out of trouble," she said finally. "If she offered that to me to protect you…" She trailed off, saw the fear ice over in his eyes. She had felt the fear also. Cold claws at her heart, telling her just how much she had come to care for the small brunette. Puck nodded jerkily.

"Thanks…" he whispered. "I mean really…" Santana offered him a smile before joining in with the rest of the Glee club. Rachel walked over to him, frowning at the look on his face.

"Did Santana say something?" she asked. "I thought she-"

"It's not that," said Puck. "She didn't say anything." He took a deep breath.

"I'll tell you later," he said forcing a small smile. Rachel nodded, smiling back at him.

_At least he's willing to talk to me about it and not shoving it down,_ she thought.

* * *

Later that night, they were at Noah's house. His mom had a night shift so he had to stay and take care of his sister. On those nights, Rachel stayed over, though they were getting close to the point where she would be able to stay at home by herself. He had stayed fairly quiet throughout the night and Rachel finally looked at him.

"Noah. Do you not want to tell me what was wrong earlier?" He sighed.

"I was hoping you would forget," he said, chuckling weakly before running a hand through his Mohawk.

"Santana told me about you going up to her after I told you about the sexting…" he said after a moment. Rachel looked at him confused.

"Why would that make you upset?"

"Why would you go to her and tell her to tease you more?" demanded Noah. Rachel looked slightly surprised.

"Why wouldn't I? You would do it for me if our situations were switched. And you've done so much for me-"

"I'm not keeping score!" he exploded. "I didn't do any of those things expecting you to pay me back."

"I know that!" retorted Rachel. "Do you really think I would ask for more torture just as a payback? If we go by what other people are saying I'd just have sex with you and that'd be that." Hurt flickered across Noah's face, though he knew what she was trying to say.

"I care about you Noah," said Rachel, her voice softer as she approached him. "I saw how bad the sexts were upsetting you, so I tried to stop them."

"You shouldn't do that," he said his voice strained.

"But I want to," she said with a smile, brushing his cheek with her hand. She frowned as she stared into his eyes and moved closer, now concerned.

"What is it Noah? Why are you scared?" He tore his eyes away, cursing that she could read him so well.

"What if Karofsky started slushying me every day?" he asked. Rachel looked even more confused.

"Karofsky's scared of you." Noah threw up his hands.

"Ok, what if Azemio started slushying me every day?"

"Noah I don't-"

"If you would go to Santana to stop her texts what else would…" He bit off the rest of his angry words. So he was angry she would do that for him. She didn't deserve to have that anger taken out on her. The next thing he knew, her soft lips were on his. She'd never kissed him that tenderly before. He felt the edge come off his anger.

"Oh Noah…" she said after the kiss. "Don't worry about that. I would let you and the boys take care of something like that. With Santana I knew I could possibly entice her with the option of making fun of me which she used to love to do, and I'm quite used to ignoring people who make fun of me. But I would never compromise myself or my safety." She knew the words were mostly true. She was almost positive she would take a bullet for Noah but that wasn't what they were talking about at the moment. She saw slight anger flare in his eyes.

"Are you angry at me?" she asked, a little hurt. He cursed, hard and loud.

"Not at you," he said. "Angry that you thought I would prefer you to get teased more just to stop someone from bothering me."

"I didn't think that," said Rachel, concerned. "I did that because I care about you. Anyone who cares would do the same." Then her mouth dropped as she saw the hesitation in his eyes.

"Noah… Has… Has no one ever done something like that for you before?" He looked away.

"Finn was the only person who ever came close to you…" he mumbled after a long pause. She pulled him into her arms. After a moment, his arms came around her as well.

"I care for you Noah. I always will. And people who care for each other do things like this simply because they care." She smiled. "And get used to it. Because there are now a lot of people who care about you."

"No one like you," he whispered. And the warmth that her heart felt from that statement spread all the way down to her toes. She kissed him briefly. And when they separated she searched his eyes for any doubt.

There was none.

She smiled as his eyes softened and he brushed his hand across her hair.

"Thanks Rach." She just smiled at him before he pulled her into a hug.

They stood there for quite some time, just letting the care of the other person wash through them. Noah knew in his heart that she would forever reside there, whether they stayed together or not. She was and always will be family to him. Whether that be as a one of the closest friends he would ever have or… a wife. He banished that terrifying thought. Just the feeling of someone really caring for him. That was all.

He blanked his mind and just enjoyed the moment, her in his arms and just how much she cared for him running through him. This is all that matters.

* * *

The Hairography story line is up next! I have to do some tweaking. Quinn is not going to take Puck for a test run. Well maybe she will but not for the same reason as the show. She won't take him away from Rachel. As for the makeover... I'm still deciding on that but I'm leaning towards keeping it if only for the amusement of seeing Noah's reaction XD. And then I'm adding in a little Nate storyline ;) I'm excited for that part. Hope you guys liked this chapter!


	31. Chapter 30

So my fall break is this weekend I go home on Wednesday. Unless I get lazy the next chapter could COULD be out by Sunday. Also the Karofsky side story could COULD be up by Sunday. I don't have much to say about this chapter, but I do have a lot to say on the new season but I'll do that in the author's note after the chapter haha. Here you go!

Oh before I forget I have passed 600 reviews. And congrats to brokenangelwings16 to getting it. You get a digital cookie :D

* * *

Nothing much happened the next few days, though Mr. Schuester seemed a little freaked out by something. Then one day he asked them to meet in the auditorium. The Glee club was surprised to see a bunch of girls on the stage. They sat down slightly confused and after a while their teacher came out on stage as well.

"Okay guys, so, first of all, I want to welcome Miss Hitchens and the Jane Addams Glee club. We're all very happy to have you guys here. So, um, we're gonna let you guys start us off. Let's see what you got."

As Mr. Schuester walked off the stage, Miss Hitchens pointed to her group and said, "Hit it."

The music began and as the girls started singing and dancing, Rachel rolled her eyes. Typical over sexualization and exploitation of their own bodies. Cliché and so overused. Even worse, she knew some people would only see that and overlook their lack of talent. She paused as she looked over at Noah. He was watching the Jane Adams girls' far too closely for her taste and it made her wonder if he was missing the sex part of his relationships. She bit her lip and looked down, clasping her hands together in her lap. When she looked back up, she saw Quinn eyeing her so Rachel gave her a quick smile before focusing back on the performance. After what seemed like forever, the song finally ended. Rachel rolled her eyes once again as she saw the boys giving the Jane Addams girls a bigger hand. The Jane Addams girls all started cheering and filling out of the auditorium. Rachel saw that Mr. Schuester was worried so she got up and came to sit down behind him.

"Mr. Schue, you seem concerned."

"What? No, I mean, they were great. But we're just as good." Rachel resisted rolling her eyes once again.

"Mr. Schue, if I may- What they were doing was just all smoke and mirrors. It's called 'hairography'."

"What?"

"Hairography. All the whizzing of their hair around just to distract from the fact that they're not really good dancers, and their vocals were just so-so. Trust me. We have nothing to be afraid of." She smiled and left, confident she had convinced their teacher. If only she felt so confident about her boyfriend at the moment.

* * *

The next day in Glee, Mr. Schue walked in with some new music in his hands.

"All right guys. I did some thinking last night. I think I found our new number for sectionals." Everyone began to sit down as he got the music out from his folder.

"We are gonna do the title song from _Hair._ Now this show started a revolution."

"Wait did they have Mohawks back then?" asked Puck and Rachel almost giggled. "Like in the '20s or whatever?"

"Yeah Mr. Schue, if we're gonna do a song about hair, shouldn't we have more hair?" asked Finn.

"I'm one step ahead of you," said Mr. Schue as he took the bag he carried off his shoulder. "Here are your wigs," he said as he tossed the bag to Finn.

"Mr. Schuester," protested Rachel as she stood up and pulled him aside, very worried. "What are you doing? We are fine the way we are. We don't need hairography. It's just a distraction."

"Look, I have to be honest," replied her teacher. "Those Jane Addams girls did freak me out a little. And I'm worried about our chances at sectionals. I mean we have to pull out all the stops if we wanna win." Rachel looked away disappointed but nodded and looked back at the group. Mr. Schuester laughed as he saw the boys.

"Lookin' great guys!" Noah winked at Rachel and she smiled, though she was still worried. About the disaster that was about to happen yes, but more so in the lack of faith their director seemed to have in their talent.

Quinn eyed Rachel then looked to Puck. She knew he wouldn't dump her because they wouldn't have sex. She also knew he wouldn't cheat on Rachel. But more and more often she had seen Puck's eyes wandering. After the Jane Addams performance she knew Rachel knew that now too. She began to think through a plan, one that would help her out as well. The next day she caught up to Kurt in the hallway.

"Hey Kurt, can I pick your pink brain for a second?"

"Why hello Quinn. To what do I owe the honor? I do believe this is the first time you've ever spoken to me." Quinn flinched.

"I'm sorry about that," she said sincerely and Kurt responded with a warm smile. Quinn smiled back, knowing she had been forgiven.

"Anyways, I have a proposition to make," she continued. "A makeover."

"I'm in," said Kurt immediately. "Makeovers are like crack to me."

"Uh huh," said Quinn, fighting back a laugh.

"My suggestion: Spanx. Or a double knit camisole with a control top for the baby bump. Also, baby doll dresses- dead giveaway."

"Not for me," said Quinn. "For Rachel."

Kurt chuckled. "Why would I want to do that? I admit I like a challenge as much as the next guy but Rachel somehow manages to dress like a grandmother and a toddler at the same time." Quinn looked at him oddly.

"Oh I don't mean it to be rude. Just think about it." After a moment Quinn nodded.

"Yeah you're right."

"Besides, the last thing Rachel needs is attention from hockey players or anyone else," said Kurt. "She stays the same, no extra attention."

"True," replied Quinn. "I'm proposing a small makeover. Same basic overall look just a little sexier."

"Why?"

"You haven't seen it yet?" asked Quinn. It took a few seconds for Kurt to make a connection.

"He wouldn't cheat on her."

"I agree," said Quinn. "But… she's noticed." Kurt nodded.

"We need something that will keep his attention."

"Exactly. Look at her. She's wearing a pantsuit. She's needs something that stays within her style but can hold his attention. It would be good for her." Kurt smiled.

"And to think. I thought you were a dumb blonde," he joked. "Deal."

* * *

Later in the day, right before Glee and when Kurt had planned to talk to Rachel about the makeover, he got a text. Confusion crossed his face, before he hurried off. He arrived in the girls' restroom after Mercedes and Rachel.

"What happened?" he asked. "I thought…"

"I guess he didn't find out," said Mercedes. Kurt sighed as he examined Tina and the slushy stains in her shirt.

"They were after me…" said Rachel. "But Tina saw them and shoved me into the bathroom."

"They got angry and slushied me," finished Tina. Kurt's eyes firmed.

"That doesn't leave this bathroom ladies. No one can find out that they were after Rachel. Especially Puck." Everyone nodded.

"Well anyway, on a good note, I think those stains will come out Tina," continued Kurt. "But we don't have time before Glee to dry your hair the whole way."

"That's ok," replied Tina. "It's a good thing I had gym today though." Kurt nodded. When they all entered the choir room, the talking stopped and Artie cursed.

"I'm fine Artie. It's not like we aren't used to it," said Tina with a smile. After everyone had sat down a silent moment passed as everyone's thoughts turned to Nate.

"Do you think the hockey team found out?" asked Matt.

"It'd be all over the school. We would have heard about it," replied Quinn, though she bit her lip. They were all relieved as they looked up to see Nate walking into the choir room. He frowned slightly at the silence before catching sight of Tina, her hair still wet and in gym clothes. He swore turning, almost stalking out of the room before he caught himself.

"I'm sorry Tina," he said as he turned back around. "Its… I've just been real stressed out lately." The whole glee club seemed to frown.

"Is Karofsky giving you trouble or something?" asked Finn.

"No. Nothing like that," replied Nate before sighing. "It's nothing. I'll be fine."

"You sure? Anything we can do?" asked Mercedes. Nate looked up and smiled at them all.

"Thanks guys. Just a little stressed out. I'll be fine." Everyone smiled back, knowing if it had been anything like the hockey team finding out, he would have told them.

"I have a ton of homework," said Nate. "I was gonna stay but I think waiting to do my homework till later at night is what's helping to stress me out."

"Don't worry about it dude," said Puck. "Get out of here." Nate laughed.

"See you guys around." He paused, looking back.

"I'm sorry again. I'll be more careful keeping my ear out for slushy attacks."

"It's not your fault Nate," said Artie. Nate smiled, the words meaning more coming from Tina's boyfriend, and left.

After Glee rehearsal, Kurt pulled Rachel aside. "You mind if I come over tonight? I want to have a little mini girls night."

"Sure," said Rachel. "Noah has to watch his… um he has to be at home tonight and we had been trying to figure out the best way to experiment with us sleeping in different houses." Kurt immediately looked concerned.

"You haven't been able to sleep without him in the house yet?"

"I've been able to sleep. I just haven't been able to stay asleep," replied Rachel. "It's not as bad as when it first happened but the nightmares still come."

"Well then I'll be happy to help with that too," said Kurt with a smile. "Let's go."

"Sure. Let me tell Noah."

A little while later they were in Rachel's room and Kurt was waxing her eyebrows.

"The key is to never wax above the eyebrow. Always shape from below," advised Kurt. "Trust me. I get a lot of practice. Look at mine." Rachel sighed.

"Kurt… why did you volunteer to give me a new look? I mean why do you think I need a new look at all?"

"One, I'm a sucker for makeovers," said Kurt with a smile, that made Rachel laugh. "And I think you know what two is." Rachel looked down.

"I'm sure it's just in my head," she said.

"Okay, one, no and never say that again. Two, there needs to be an adjustment period for Puck. He's never had a real girlfriend before. And he's just looking."

"But looking can turn into cheating…" Kurt raised a (perfectly waxed) eyebrow.

"You don't believe that."

"But that's how it starts doesn't it? Believing he won't cheat?"

"No honey," said Kurt firmly and finally. "You're extremely talented Rachel. Watching you perform is amazing. No one can look away, especially him."

"Well, what kind of makeover did you have in mind?" asked Rachel slightly hesitantly.

"What we're going to do is turn your look into your talent, your performance," replied Kurt. "Without drawing any extra attention to you. Something that looks similar to what you wear before but when you get home and are alone with Puck has a side that will make him do a double take every time he looks at you."

Rachel smiled before freezing. "Won't that just make him want sex more?" Kurt paused to think.

"Perhaps, but he'll only want it with you. And for you he'll wait. Now, let's move on to makeup." Rachel smiled.

"Oh and I'm taking you to school tomorrow," said Kurt. "You'll get to surprise him." Rachel laughed.

* * *

Kurt and Rachel walked into school. She was wearing a skirt, similar to ones she usually wore but this one was all black. She had on a fitted top that had only two strings holding it up in a halter type deal and left a fair amount of skin showing. She wore a pair of heels instead of her usual flats, and a half length sweater that covered the exposed skin from the top and went halfway down her arms. After a few moments of worrying that she would get a little extra attention, she began to straighten up.

"See?" said Kurt with a smile.

"Thanks Kurt."

"I'm still walking you to your locker though. I want to see his face." As Rachel walked up, she saw Noah waiting though he was watching a cheerleader walk in the opposite direction.

"Good morning Noah." She saw him smile and turn to look at her and almost did a small double take.

"Hey Rach. You look great." Kurt winked at her and strolled off.

"Just a little mini makeover," she replied. He smiled and kissed her briefly.

"Just as long as you didn't get rid of those thigh-high socks. Those and your skirts…" He winked and she laughed. As they continued to talk and catch up she noticed he didn't look away once.

"Oh and I slept fine last night." She watched as tension left him.

"Good," he said relieved. "I thought that even if you didn't you would keep it from me." Rachel smiled at him and shook her head. Quinn walked up to them at that moment.

"Hello Quinn," said Rachel. "Thank you." Quinn smiled.

"For what?" asked Noah.

"Quinn suggested to Kurt about the mini-makeover."

"Thank you," repeated Noah, eyes widening slightly as he turned to look at Quinn, and she swallowed a laugh.

"I need to ask you two a favor."

"Sure what is it Quinn?" asked Rachel.

"Is it about the baby?" whispered Noah. "Is she ok?"

"She's fine," said Quinn smiling. "You know how I had decided to give her up for adoption?"

Rachel and Noah nodded.

"Well, to be honest I really don't know what I'm gonna do about it anymore. My mind's pretty messed up about everything."

"How can we help?" asked Rachel.

"I'm going to be babysitting Friday night. I would take Finn but I don't want to get his hopes up if I don't decide to keep her, and you know how excited he would get if I told him I had changed my mind." Quinn sighed.

"Plus… this lying is starting to… do you know what I mean?" she asked looking to Puck who just nodded.

"But that's not what the favor is," said Quinn shaking her head, clearly indicating that she didn't want to talk about that any further.

"Can I borrow Puck this Friday?" she asked. Noah looked to Rachel who smiled.

"Of course Quinn." The blonde smiled.

"Thanks Rachel. Are you ok with that Puck?" He just smiled and both Rachel and Quinn laughed.

"Thanks again guys," said Quinn as she walked off.

"You sure you ok with that Rach?" asked Noah.

"I know I have been jealous of Quinn," said Rachel. "But she has made it very clear in this case and times before she loves Finn." She looked up at him. "So yeah. I'm ok." He smiled and kissed her again.

As they looked up they saw Mike walk by. He seemed down. They exchanged a glance.

"I got it," said Rachel with a smile. Noah smiled back, smothering the tiny bit of jealousy that arose. He was working at it and was getting a lot better. Mike and Matt were quickly becoming as close friends as Finn was… well had been. Rachel hurried off and quickly caught up with Mike.

"Hey Rachel. What's up?" asked Mike with a small smile.

"Noticed you were down," she replied, then had a small realization. "You haven't been hanging out with Brittany as much as you normally do," she observed. "Is something wrong?"

Mike sighed. "I'm just friends with Brittany but Santana can get jealous. She thinks I like Brittany."

"I'm sorry Mike. How does Matt feel about his ex dating a girl?" asked Rachel.

"He's fine with it actually. I expected him to freak out or something, but he was over Santana before they broke up. He's trying to ignore the crush he has on Mercedes." A smile spread across Rachel's face.

"I happen to know Mercedes is trying to do the same thing with her crush on him." Mike looked at her, a smile on his face now too.

"No kidding," he said happily.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked a sly smile on her face.

"Maybe," replied Mike a smirk on his.

"Well, this Friday night," said Rachel. She looked around before lowering her voice. "Quinn's reconsidering keeping her baby. She's going to be babysitting, getting a feel on how it's going to be you know?" Mike nodded.

"Well, she doesn't want to get Finn's hopes up that she's going to keep the baby, so she's going with Noah."

"But if Finn finds out…" said Mike.

"Exactly. So I'm thinking that you, Matt, Nate, and Finn get together and somehow that night find out a way to subtly convince Matt to accept his crush on Mercedes. I'll have a girls night and try and do the same with her." Mike smiled.

"Good with me. Two birds, one stone." Rachel laughed.

"And don't worry about Santana. I'm sure she'll realize after a while that she has nothing to be jealous about."

"Thanks Rachel," replied Mike. "See you around." Rachel passed Kurt who waved before feeling his phone vibrate. He pulled it out to see a text from Nate.

_Can u meet in choir rm lunch?_ Kurt frowned.

_Sure. Evrything ok?_

After a moment he received a reply.

_Yeah just need 2 talk_

Kurt frowned again before shrugging. If he could help out Nate with whatever stress he was feeling, he would do it. So at lunch he headed to the choir room. He paused at the door and looked inside first. Nate was pacing, clearly nervous about something. Kurt went in.

"Are you sure everything's ok?" he asked concerned. "The hockey team hasn't-"

"No," replied Nate. "I doubt I'd be in one piece if they had." Kurt's frowned deepened. Nate sighed.

"Kurt you're gay right?" he asked. Kurt froze, eyes going wide, and almost felt the 'no' slip out reflexively. He took a deep breath, calming his heart before replying.

"Yes," he said looking straight back at Nate.

"Can I tell you something?" asked the hockey player. Kurt felt his heart leap slightly. He had no idea why so he ignored it.

"Sure."

"I'm sorry. I need to tell someone. I've never told anyone and seeing you just…" He paused realizing he was rambling and took a deep breath.

"I'm bi." Kurt's eyes widened.

"You?" Nate looked down.

"Yeah. I've never acted on the attractions I've felt to guys because…" Kurt nodded.

"I understand. Why did you want to say it now?"

"Because I see you out and proud," he said. "And I feel ashamed of myself for hiding half of who I am." Kurt chuckled slightly.

"I only ever came out to Glee club. The rest of the school assumes. I never came out until this year. I only told my dad after I helped the football team win that one game. I'm not that courageous."

"You are," said Nate looking back up. "Whether you came out this year or 5 years ago, you came out. That takes a hell of a lot of courage in this school." He sighed and walked over to a chair sitting down.

"I mean I don't even know if I _should _come out. I'm not afraid of the teasing, the backlash but…"

"You're afraid of getting kicked off the hockey team," said Kurt sitting down beside him. Nate nodded.

"Hockey's as much a part of me as how I swing. I don't know what to do."

"Well if you do decide to keep it quiet at least tell the Glee club. They won't judge you and they will keep it a secret. They know about me." Nate nodded though he still looked tense.

"How long have you known?" asked Kurt trying to calm him down slightly.

"Middle school. My first porn experience on the web," he laughed slightly. "You must think it's stupid I didn't know before then." Kurt just shook his head. Nate sighed.

"I had been watching a guy on girl thing but when it was over I clicked a wrong link and it sent me to a video of guy on guy stuff and I was just as... well aroused as the guy on girl. Then more and more around school I would find myself thinking 'He's pretty cute' and stuff like that but I was still attracted to girls." Kurt nodded.

"Well whatever you choose to do Glee club will support you and I will support you."

"Even if I don't come out?" he asked looking at Kurt. Kurt smiled and nodded.

"I know how much you love hockey. If you come out, you're going to lose that. Besides you're coming out to Glee right?" Nate nodded.

"Then you're coming out to those who matter." Nate smiled and stood up. Kurt did too and the next thing he knew he was in a huge hug.

"Thanks Kurt," Nate whispered in his ear. Kurt felt his heart flutter but remained calm and hugged him back.

"You're welcome Nate."

* * *

heehee Hope you enjoyed that little twist which I am proud to say no one saw coming. A fair amount of people thought Nate was gay which is slightly true haha. And before you ask, no Nate does not have a crush on Kurt.

As for the new season of Glee, the last episode Grilled Cheesus? I don't think I've ever cried so much at a tv episode or even a movie than I have at that episode. It was so beautiful especially Kurt singing 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' and Rachel singing 'Papa Can You Hear Me?' I love L-O-V-E LOVE how they approached the religion angle. The positive aspect of Christianity was touched on but unlike any other episode of any other series I can think of did it address the opposite view of Christianity so tactfully and realistically.

As for other things: I point blank hate Matt transferring. I like Matt :( AND it has thrown a huge wrench in my planned plot. I have thought about ignoring that and keeping him in the story but I'm not sure yet.

The amount of Finnchel is starting to make me sick. Not because I am obviously a Puckleberry fan. I respect Finnchel fans and the Finnchel storylines do contain some interesting aspects that Puckleberry storylines wouldn't. Its starting to make me sick because Finn 'loves' Rachel but still cares so much about being popular. Just doesn't make sense. True love is putting a person completely and totally ahead of yourself. Finn isn't doing that. Neither is Rachel. HINT HINT :P

Another problem I have is the overuse of the word love, not only in Glee but in a lot of tv shows. Now I may not be the right person to talk about this since I have never been in love. I've only had crushes. But too many times do I see crushes referred to as love. Maybe its just me.

I've loved the music so far. I'm sad though since I don't have the money to buy them all just yet :(

If there's any aspect of the new season that I didn't talk about but you want to swap ideas about feel free to message me :) Thanks for reading!


	32. Chapter 31

Ok first off, the Karofsky side story is up. Just head to my profile and its the newest story. I would put a link but fanfiction doesn't like links haha. Um the only other thing that I won't wait to say until the author's note at the end is thank you so much for all the hits, favs, and alerts. I'm over 175,000 hits. 562 people get emails when I update, which is something I can't wrap my brain around. Thank you so much for everything and I hope I continue to make you guys happy :)

* * *

Last time: First part of Hairography story line; Rachel gets makeover to try and keep Noah's eyes from wandering, Nate comes out to Kurt that he's bi

* * *

Meanwhile at lunch, Mike talked to Matt, Artie, and Finn. He would talk to Nate later.

"Hey guys I'm gonna throw a party just for us guys this Friday. You in?" Matt and Artie nodded.

"Just us?" asked Finn.

"Well I'll talk to Nate later. Not a smart move to talk to him in the middle of lunch. Kurt's practically a girl."

"Well what about Puck?" asked Matt.

"His mom's working the late shift," replied Mike. "He has to watch his sis." Finn shrugged.

"Fine with me. Quinn's babysitting anyway." Mike smiled.

"See you guys then."

Rachel was talking to the girls as well.

"Quinn cannot join us," she explained. "She's babysitting. I offered to reschedule but she urged me to do the party anyway."

Mercedes, Tina, Brittany, and Santana all exchanged looks, shrugged and smiled at Rachel.

"I put a limit to two musicals turned movies," said Santana and everyone laughed.

"What about Kurt?" asked Mercedes.

"I haven't seen him, but I'll talk to him at Glee," replied Rachel with a smile.

* * *

Soon enough it was time for Glee and Rachel pulled Kurt aside.

"How'd the outfit go?" asked Kurt with a smirk and Rachel smiled widely.

"I never saw him look away once." Kurt smiled.

"Objective achieved. Commence phase two."

"Oh and I'm also having a little girls night this Friday. You in?" Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"You even have to ask?" Rachel laughed and Kurt escorted her back to the chairs. Nate walked in a little later with Mr. Schue right behind him.

"I know you have rehearsal but can I say something real quick Mr. Schue?" asked Nate, fidgeting slightly. Mr. Schue nodded, slightly worried at how nervous the hockey player was. Nate turned to the Glee club, all but Kurt worried as well.

"I talked to Kurt today and he convinced me to tell you guys what's been bothering me lately." He looked down, took a deep breath and looked back up again.

"I'm bi." There were a few surprised looks but no one really said anything.

"And?" said Noah. Nate lowered his head again, clearly fighting back emotion.

"You guys really don't care," he said softly.

"We already know who you are," said Mike.

"Now we just know something more about you," said Mercedes.

"But it doesn't change what we already know," continued Quinn.

"You're still the same person. Our friend," said Rachel. Kurt was smiling knowingly.

"Told you," he said quietly.

"I should have told you guys sooner," laughed Nate, looking back up, tears in his eyes but none falling. "You really are real friends." Everyone smiled.

"The important thing is you did tell us," said Matt.

"And we'll protect you," said Tina.

"And your secret," added Artie.

"The assholes in the hockey team wouldn't understand," scoffed Finn.

"And they're in for it if they ever do anything," said Santana, her eyes narrowed. Brittany just smiled, afraid that she would say the wrong thing and ruin the moment. Nate was at a loss for words as he just looked at everyone. His eyes lingered on Kurt, who just smiled at him.

"Told you," Kurt said again.

"Thanks guys…" whispered Nate. Mr. Schue was off to the side, unable to express even to himself how proud he was of his kids.

"That was very brave of you to tell us Nate," said their teacher stepping forward. Nate laughed a little.

"Hanging around with Kurt enough makes you feel guilty for hiding a part of you," he explained.

"We're here for you," said Brittany, speaking finally. "But I think it's easier for a girl to be bi than a boy…" Everyone nodded, slightly surprised just at the observation made by a girl who normally wasn't that bright. But she would know.

"You're welcome to hang around as always," offered Mr. Schue.

"I think I will stay if you guys don't mind," said Nate before laughing at some of the looks he was getting. "Yeah, yeah, I got it. You guys never mind, I'm your friend, and I should know better by now."

"Then why do you still ask?" questioned Puck with a smirk which drew another laugh out of Nate as he shook his head before taking a seat. Mr. Schue then got all the boys to put on their wigs and they all lined up facing the chairs. Mr. Schue pulled Brittany out and then spoke.

"Some of you, particularly the guys, have come up to me with some questions about hairography. One of our own has volunteered to walk us through it. She has got it down. Brittany, take it away."

"Take what away?" she asked.

"Show us what you got," said Mr. Schue.

"Oh." She smiled and stepped a little closer to the line of her friends. "So, hairography, it works best when you pretend like you're getting tasered. So you just move your head around like you're spazzing and stuff." She then pulled out her ponytail and began demonstrating. The Glee club began to murmur, laugh and try it out.

"See guys, it's like cool epilepsy," explained Brittany.

"Come on guys, let's see what you got," said Mr. Schue. As the boys started to get a little more into it, the girls started to laugh a little.

"Good guys. Yeah. Just relax and go for it," urged their teacher. As the kids continued to practice, Mr. Schue walked towards the door. It wasn't long before his raised voice reached the kids and they slowly stopped and turned towards the door. They saw Sue and Mr. Schue outside the room.

"I resent that accusation William," said Sue. "And one I understand you've been making to our friends at Haverbrook and Jane Addams. And it's an outrageous affront to my sterling reputation! That being said, fine. I have been checking up on you. Because I don't like what's going on in there." All the kids started to group together in the room, watching the two teachers go at it.

"Do you know why I make each of my Cheerios wear her hair pulled back in a ponytail?" questioned Sue. "Because I don't want to distract from her impeccable talent. You seem to be taking the opposite approach Will. And that leads me to believe you know your kids don't have what it takes."

"I believe in my kids," replied Mr. Schue, a quiet anger in his words.

"Well maybe in the beginning but not now, now that you've seen the competition that threatens your very position at this school!" Rachel looked down. She knew Sue was out to destroy the Glee club. But in this instance… she had to side with the cheerleading coach. They had no need to do this. Quite a few others noticed Rachel's reaction and started questioning the situation themselves.

"You're going to get me an updated set list by 5:00 tomorrow. And if there's anything on that list that involves demeaning, fruity hair-tossing, I'm cutting it!"

"I will not let you dictate my number choices," said Mr. Schue getting closer to Sue, the anger also closer in his voice. "And you are not getting that list."

"Well then I'm back as codirector," replied Sue before walking away. Mr. Schue stared after her for a moment before turning to head back into the room and was a little surprised to see his kids grouped together looking at him.

"Okay guys, from the top," was all he said. After practice was over, Mike invited Nate to the guys night and he accepted and soon everyone was going their separate ways. Rachel and Noah headed to her house, chatting about the number they were working on, mainly involving tips on how to swish his wig around the right way. It wasn't long before they were at her house. He held the door open for her and followed her in.

"So," he said as he closed the door. "Wha…" He swore his brain stopped as he turned to look at his girlfriend. Rachel had begun stripping off the sweater she had on to reveal just how… revealing the top she had on was. She tossed her hair back and smiled at him and he couldn't breathe anymore.

_Holy sweet mother of freaking GOD!_

She began walking towards him. The pumps making her legs a mile high. This ridiculously sexy look on her face. The swish of her hips. The bounce of her-

"Stop!" his voice rang out and she froze. He was trembling and knew he was. The only reason there wasn't a tent in his pants at the moment was because of his restraint built from years of control, and his care for her. She wasn't ready. He knew she wasn't ready.

"If you take one step closer, I don't know if I can control myself," he warned, not caring that his voice was shaking. It didn't slip past him that she had such a grasp over him. 5 steps towards him and she was threatening to demolish his control. He deliberately looked away from her and took a few deep breaths and his trembling stopped.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He looked back to see a confused look on her face.

"Babe if I had less self-control you'd know what the problem was." He looked down hoping his next words wouldn't upset her too much.

"Rach… I'm saying this as nice as I possibly can… you look like a slut." He silently cursed as hurt and confusion battled on her face.

"What?" she said softly.

"This look, it… it just isn't you. And it's not what's really great about you."

"I thought this is what you liked," said Rachel quietly. Noah sighed.

"Well yeah I really do and I guess I can see how you thought that but Rach…" He seemed to struggle to find words. "There's a reason you're my first girlfriend."

"You've had girlfriends before who dress like this."

"No Rach…" He sighed again. "I only agreed to go out with those girls so I could… you know… They asked me. The word 'girlfriend' never really meant anything to me."

"I don't understand." Noah cursed. After a pause he slowly smiled.

"Did you know that even when I was slushying you, I couldn't tear my eyes away from you when you wear those skirts with knee-high socks?" Rachel laughed dryly, shaking her head.

"I'm serious Rach," he said stepping a little closer to her. Her laughter stopped and her eyes began to widen as she looked up at his face, completely serious.

"You're telling the truth."

"Yes." Her shocked eyes slowly began to fill with tears.

"Shit! Was that the wrong thing to say? Dammit!" he cursed whirling away, but she grabbed his hand.

"It was the perfect thing to say," she said with a smile. He turned back to her, squeezing her hand.

"A look isn't what makes you awesome Rachel, despite my love for that particular combination." She laughed slightly.

"Thank you Noah. I think I understand now."

"But thank you, for this… awesome image," he said taking a step back to look her up and down again. Rachel blushed fiercely.

"You're welcome," she said. He smiled before looking at her a little closely.

"Why did you do this?" Her blush faded and her face fell.

"Noah I know it's hard for you being with me. You're used to-"

"Don't you even think of finishing that sentence," he interrupted his voice hard and his eyes angry. "Who the fuck told you that I thought I needed you-"

"No one had to tell me!" yelled Rachel. "I've seen you…" she said softer. "Looking…" She felt relieved as she saw a brief look of confusion but she knew as he thought about it he had realized.

"You don't have to say anything," she said with a small smile as he opened his mouth. "You weren't realizing you were doing it but you would never cheat on me and you're sorry." He smirked.

"I don't even need to talk anymore."

"I guess I did this to show you don't have to look anywhere else to find someone sexy." He smiled.

"But you're not ready."

"No," she agreed. "I'm not. And you're ok with that." He nodded.

"Only an asshole wouldn't be." She smiled and shook her head at him good naturedly. She felt the urge to tell him that she loved him but forced it back down. It was still way too soon for him. So she just stepped closer to him and kissed him. She could live with this for now.

* * *

Friday rolled around soon enough. The guys all gathered at Mike's house and they were soon playing video games and joking around.

"So what do you guys think of this new number?" asked Nate.

"I keep getting hair in my mouth," complained Finn.

"I think Rachel agrees with Sue that Mr. Schue is nervous at the very least about sectionals," said Artie. "And I think I have to agree. We never had anything close to this before." That had them thinking for a little while.

"I like the music though," said Matt finally and everyone had to agree there. "Mercedes always kills these songs," he continued.

"You guys have been hanging out more. Anything up there?" asked Mike elbowing his friend. Matt just laughed.

"Well obviously her voice is amazing. Yeah I guess we have been hanging out more, but it's nothing like that. We're just friends." Mike nodded and let it go for the moment. Unfortunately he would strike out at every other opportunity to try and push the two together the rest of the night and he started to question if he had misread the situation. Maybe Matt really didn't have a crush on Mercedes. Well if he did it was connected to her voice and nothing would come of it.

"So how long have you known Nate?" asked Finn after a while. "That you're bi."

"Middle school," replied Nate. "I really can't believe you guys don't have a problem with it."

"Well I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a little awkward at first, that was a gut instinct, helped along with the way this school acts," replied Artie. "But it passed really quickly. We've known Kurt for a while and he's never stared at us or anything like that."

"I don't know," replied Finn awkwardly. "I think he has a crush on me."

"Don't think too much on it," assured Nate. "We all know you're straight and it'll pass for him like all crushes on straight guys."

"You've had them?" asked Matt.

"Yes and not on any of you," joked Nate. "For awhile you hope maybe there's a possibility but before long the reality sets in." Finn smiled.

"Thanks."

"No problem. And if he ever does do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable just tell him. He won't know unless you do," advised Nate. Finn nodded and soon all their attention was back on the video games.

* * *

Over at the girl's night, Kurt was in the middle of giving Santana a facial.

"I don't understand how you can be better than a spa," said Santana and Kurt just laughed.

"I declare expression of all new crushes, celebrity for taken girls and school boys for singles," exclaimed Kurt.

"David Boreanaz," admitted Rachel which sent the girls into a fit of giggles.

"It's taken you this long to develop one on him?" asked Tina. Rachel just shrugged.

"What about you Mercedes?" asked Kurt.

"Nothing new to report," said Mercedes.

"Well what about Matt?" asked Rachel.

"Yeah you have been spending more time with him," said Kurt.

"Yeah getting to know him better, becoming friends," laughed Mercedes. "That should mean you have a crush on Nate or we all should." Everyone laughed.

"I'm nervous for him," admitted Tina and everyone quieted a little.

"I think we all are," said Santana.

"Not only is he friends with us but he's bi too?" said Mercedes. "Major trouble if anyone finds out."

After a silence Kurt spoke, "Then we need to make sure no one finds out." Everyone nodded and after a few more silent moments the giggles started up again and the party was back in full swing. Rachel looked at Mercedes. Rachel had been wrong. She no longer thought Mercedes had a crush on Matt and was trying to ignore it. But the possibility was huge that a crush could form. She'd talk to Mike on Monday, see what he learned from Matt, but at this point she wanted to let things unfold.

"Oh Santana," Rachel said. "I noticed Mike and Brittany haven't been hanging out as much lately." Brittany looked away and Santana looked down.

"I have jealousy issues ok?" she said after a moment.

"You don't trust that I want to be with you," said Brittany.

"What? No."

"It's what it looks like," said Kurt gently. Santana looked down.

"I'm sorry," she said after a moment.

"It's ok San," replied Brittany immediately. "We'll work on it." Santana looked back up and smiled. A sudden realization hit Rachel. Santana was insecure. It wasn't jealousy. Well it could be but the main problem there was Santana thought that Brittany would go back to someone better. Rachel smiled. She and the cheerleader had more in common than she thought. She would keep an eye on Santana and Brittany. And since her mind had wandered to Noah, she sent off a text to check on him and then refocused on the party, mainly at this point, painting Brittany's toe nails.

* * *

The babysitting wasn't going that well. Noah and Quinn were tied together in chairs while the three boys ran wild.

"I told you we should have been the cowboys," groaned Quinn as she tried to get free.

"My bad," replied Noah.

"What are we gonna do about this?" she asked, then heard the sounds of buttons. "Who are you texting?"

"Rachel. She was checking up on me." Quinn's anger abated a little.

"Well put the phone down for a minute and help me with this knot. I've almost got it. Then you can text her and tell her things are going great because you are no longer tied up with Quinn." Noah bit back a laugh before reaching back and trying to help her with the knot. Their hands brushed for a moment before they got the knot.

"Stop that! Not the table!" ordered Quinn. She groaned. "Think of something!" she yelled at Noah who bit back a pregnant hormones remark.

"I brought my guitar. Why don't we sing them a lullaby?" he suggested.

"Give me this," said Quinn, taking a pillow from one of the kids. "Hey, kids, look at me. Want to see a real live music video?" The three kids nodded.

One extremely successful song later, they had the kids under their thumb and the rest of the night was a breeze.

"You were awesome tonight," complimented Noah as they were leaving.

"I was surprised at how I kinda enjoyed it," admitted Quinn. "I was worried about you at first. I was worried you might get distracted with Rachel."

"Distracted?" laughed Noah. "She's having a girls' night. It was a quick text to check up on me anything more than that and Kurt would have confiscated her phone." Quinn laughed.

"You're right."

"Hey Quinn, one thing," said Noah. "I know it might seem like we proved something tonight. That you can do the parenting thing, but I want you to keep something in mind." Quinn nodded.

"It's not going to be me being the dad. I might be involved depending on how things work out, but Finn's gonna be the dad." He paused.

"Tell me," said Quinn softly. "You know him as well as anyone."

"I don't think he can do this yet," he said softly. "I don't want to upset you." Quinn shook her head.

"No. You're right. I got caught up in tonight. I had almost completely decided to keep her. Finn wants to keep her but… you're right I don't think he can do this just yet." Noah smiled and headed to leave.

"Puck one thing," she said. "I know I already apologized but I want to say it again. You're not a Lima loser. And one day…" She smiled and put a hand on his arm. "You're going to be a wonderful dad." The pure surprise on his face only made her smile wider.

"I may not have proved what I wanted to," said Quinn. "But you proved something tonight. Don't forget that." Noah nodded, still caught up in his surprise. Quinn just shook her head and laughed. "Let's go."

* * *

The next Monday, Rachel wore her regular kind of clothes which immediately drew the attention of Kurt.

"I completely forgot to ask you how that went after school," he said as he fell into step beside her, the pure shock in his voice making her laugh.

"He liked it a lot but said it wasn't me. And he's right it wasn't."

"Well what about the looking?"

"Didn't even realize he was doing it. Not an excuse I saw it in his face when I told him. By the way he got really really angry when he thought someone told me I needed to dress like that or… you know… with him to keep him around."

"You're not ready for that," said Kurt putting a hand on her arm. "And I never intended-"

"I know Kurt," she replied with a smile. Kurt smiled back.

"So everything's good?"

"Everything's great," replied Rachel. "He told me that even when he was slushying me, I think his exact words were, 'couldn't tear my eyes away from you' whenever I wore one of my skirts with knee high socks." The smile on Kurt's face was instantaneous.

"That's great Rachel." She smiled.

"Thanks Kurt." Kurt patted her arm before veering off. Rachel saw Mike and hurried to catch up with him.

"Total bust," said Mike before Rachel had said anything. "If he has a crush on anything it's her voice." Rachel laughed.

"Same here. Nothing. I think it could happen." Mike shrugged.

"So we let it go?" Rachel nodded.

"If she can jump on him in the hairography song and all they do is joke about it, no amount of subtle pushing's going to help." Mike laughed.

"Hadn't even thought of it that way. But here's to hoping." Rachel smiled.

"Of course."

* * *

That day in Glee club, the Haverbrook Glee club came over. They all changed into their costumes and got in their starting positions while Mr. Schue talked to them.

"Thank you all for coming," he said. "We are so honored to have you guys here. So without further ado, I present the New Directions." The song started and immediately the hair throwing started. By the end of it, they all felt foolish and Rachel even felt a bit angry at Mr. Schue. There was complete silence at the end of the song before Mr. Schue started clapping a little awkwardly and the Haverbrook glee club reluctantly waved their hands, the signal for applause in sign language. There was even a few laughs. Rachel stomped over to Mr. Schue.

"It didn't work at all, did it?" she asked, keeping the question in her tone despite the fact she knew the answer.

"That was just the rehearsal," replied Mr. Schue a little quickly, his voice higher than normal. "It's still just a little rough. But we're on to something." Rachel rolled her eyes but nodded. They all sat down and waited for the Haverbrook kids to perform. The music started, their director giving the beats of the music in a very subtle way that even Rachel couldn't even tell how they knew where the beat was. But every single kid had a smile on their face. Their lead, a boy in the front, started and they all followed in sign language while he sang the words as best he could. And as they performed, it affected each and every one of New Directions. It seemed to hit Mercedes most of all because when the next verse started she began to sing along. Everyone turned to look at her, most with smiles on their faces because it just felt so right. And when the chorus came around Mercedes stood up and walked next to their lead and sang with him. He looked at her with a smile and she started trying her best to copy the sign language. Artie was the next to sing as he rolled up next to another Haverbrook kid. And the rest of New Directions began backing him with harmonies. Brittany got up, pulling Kurt with her. And before they knew it, everyone was up next to a Haverbrook kid, singing along and doing their best to follow the sign language. Many attempts were clumsy and even just plain wrong, but all they got were smiles from the kids. If they had been aware, they would have seen Mr. Schue fighting back tears. In so many ways, his kids were the best. But being the best at understanding and acceptance… that meant the most. And at the end, the Haverbrook director was so astonished and grateful it took a moment for him to raise his hands in the sign for applause. But the kids were already laughing and talking to each other. And when their new friends had left, Mr. Schue tried to say something, but couldn't find the words.

"I'm so proud of you," was all he could say before he dismissed them.

* * *

The next day in Glee club, Mr. Schuester had new music.

"We're starting from scratch," he explained. "Grab a stool."

"So we're a stool choir now?" asked Artie, a little nervous about the answer.

"No. We're not dancing with the stools," replied Mr. Schue. "No gimmicks. No false theatricality. We're just gonna sit in them and sing." Rachel smiled.

"Thanks Mr. Schuester," she said before looking back and analyzing her part. Mr. Schue smiled at pointed at her. She had been right all along.

"Now Tina has the solo," he said. After a silence almost everyone had turned to look at Rachel who was still immersed in her part. She looked up after feeling all the eyes on her.

"What?" she asked confused.

"Mr. Schue gave me the solo…" said Tina hesitantly.

"Yes. It suits your voice perfectly," replied Rachel before looking back down at the music.

"We need to make that boy a medal," said Kurt pointing to Puck.

"I didn't do anything," he replied, though there was a huge smile on his face directed at his girlfriend.

"Oh so it's a coincidence that Rachel is no longer a psycho diva and became a regular one when she started dating you?" Kurt asked. Puck just shrugged. Rachel looked up, smiling in good humor.

"Things change," she said in a way of explanation and everyone smiled widely.

"No more stormouts?" asked Mercedes.

"No promises," laughed Rachel. "Now let's practice."

* * *

Another reminder that the Karofsky side story IS up so go check it out. Next chapter will be the start of the Mattress storyline. I'm taking a liberty with a Noah/Rachel storyline, one that isn't in the show but really should be covered. It will also tie in a little with the Nate storyline and then of course all this leads up to the Sectionals storyline.

I have a favor to ask, and please do not misunderstand me. I love every review I get. However many of them consist of 'you did a great job! can't wait for the next chapter' which I love because it's telling me I'm doing a great job that you guys love it, however I would like to ask for some reviews that look at how I am interpreting the show and how I am integrating my own storyline. Please do not think this is a plea for more reviews. I am more than happy with what I get and the fact that so many people read this. I just want a little insight to how you feel about what I am doing. Thank you :)

Hope you loved this chapter!


	33. Chapter 32

Ok first off, thank you everyone! Every single review I got last chapter talked about my storyline and what I had asked you guys about so thank you so much!

Second off I hope you enjoy this chapter because I cannot explain to you how proud I am of the first part of it. But so I don't spoil it I'll talk more about it at the bottom ;) Enjoy!

* * *

As the days passed, posters started appearing, reminding students of the upcoming yearbook pictures, which Rachel was really excited for. Noah was glad that she was so happy because really it took his mind off of what else was coming up. But as that day approached, his mother started to become slightly depressed. He cursed when he heard her crying one night. It had been this long and that man still managed to hurt her. He had thought Rachel hadn't noticed.

But she had.

More and more, she saw dark circles under his eyes appear, and his smile didn't reach his eyes half the time. So a couple nights before yearbook pictures, when he was over at her house she finally decided to talk to him about it.

"How long are you going to keep what's bothering you from me?" she asked softly looking across the table at him. They had been working on homework at her dinner table. She saw him freeze, then heard the pencil he was holding crack and her concern deepened.

"Noah-"

"Don't," he said sharply, never looking at her. "Just let this one go Rach."

"You're hurting… How can I let that go?" she asked. Noah threw his pencil and burst out of his seat but still never looked at her.

"This isn't about you. This isn't about us. Just forget about it." He stormed towards the door and Rachel had to hurry to catch his hand. She was hurt but forcibly held back the tears.

"You can leave if you want to, just please wait until you've calmed down a little. It's dangerous to drive when you're upset…" After a moment he nodded and went out to the living room. Rachel hesitated before heading back to the kitchen and doing her best to finish her homework. About 15 minutes later she heard her front door open and close, then his truck start up. Only when the sound of his engine had faded, did a tear fall down Rachel's cheek, but no longer for herself. For him to be this upset about something… She debated calling Finn about it, but for some reason she had a feeling Noah had never talked to Finn about this. She felt horrible for trying to push it but at the same time wasn't sorry she did it and knew she wouldn't stop. This was something he needed to talk about. So she went through the rest of her night and went to bed early.

* * *

She woke in the middle of the night and sat up quickly but froze at the sight at the end of her bed. Noah was sitting there hunched over, staring at his hands, and crying silently. She slowly crawled towards him.

"Noah?" she said softly. He moved, leaning over to continue to cry on her lap. After another moment of shock, her eyes softened and she placed a comforting hand on his head.

"Shh. It's ok," she assured. She moved back a little.

"Come on," she said. "You don't want to fall off the bed." Noah moved with her, curling up on her bed and continued to sob into her lap.

"Oh Noah," she whispered. "It'll be ok." She began to run her hand slowly through his hair, down the middle of his Mohawk, in a comforting fashion.

He never said anything that night and after a while fell asleep, but Rachel stayed up, continuing to run her hand through his hair and watching over him. When her alarm went off at normal time she reached over and shut it off as fast as she could but he still stirred.

"Sorry," she said softly. He turned his head to look at her.

"You didn't sleep," he said just as softly. He sat up and she heard him curse under his breath.

"Tell me what's wrong Noah," she said, her voice still soft.

"We went over this yesterday Rachel," he said as he got up from her bed and heading to leave.

"And you ended up crying yourself to sleep." He stopped at her doorframe, gripping it tightly. Rachel hesitantly got up and began walking towards him.

"It doesn't have to do with me, or us, but how does that mean I should stop caring?" He turned slowly, his head lowered and she stopped.

"I can't…" he said, his voice soft and full of more tears.

"Noah…" she whispered, moving towards him again. She didn't want to risk getting to close and having him run so she reached out and took one of his hands. She didn't speak. For once she didn't know what to say. She just held his hand between hers and after a moment she lifted his hand and brushed a kiss across his palm. A choked sob escaped his lips and her head shot up, concern in her eyes.

Finally he met and held her eyes for the first time since she had spoken to him yesterday.

"Around this time… years ago… my dad…" His voice broke and everything snapped into place for Rachel.

"Oh Noah," she whispered and pulled him into a hug.

And as he clung to her and began to cry again it hit her that she was no longer holding Noah the football player, she was holding the little boy Noah who had been abandoned by his father and forced into a role of responsibility in his house with his mom and little sister that a child that age should never have known.

"My mom won't stop crying…" he said and she began to cry, hearing that helplessness of the little boy in his voice.

"It'll be ok. I promise," she said holding him even tighter. After a moment he pulled out of the hug and wiped at his face before reaching out and wiping the tears off her face.

"You shouldn't cry," he said his voice rough. She just smiled at him.

"I'll try not to but it's hard when you're hurting so much."

"I'm fine," he replied and she reached up to place a hand on his cheek.

"Don't lie to yourself Noah," she said softly. "You should talk about it." He pulled away and she grabbed his hand.

"I can't," he said trying to pull his hand out of hers.

"We don't have to talk about it now. Just promise me you'll try to talk to me about it later." She could see the conflict on his face before he finally relented and nodded.

"Do you want to stay home from school?" she asked.

"No," he said. "I need to get my mind off…"

"Go get some breakfast then and I'll get dressed," she said. "I'll be down in a minute." He obediently turned and headed down the stairs. She watched him for a moment before turning, closing her door and changing quickly. Her heart ached for him. She should have realized sooner. A reaction like the one he had yesterday should have told her right off the bat. But she took hope from the fact that he had come back that night. He hadn't spoken but for him to come back was at least heading towards the right direction. When she came down to the kitchen he was half-heartedly eating an apple. She glanced at the clock. Their talk had spent more time than she realized. It was close to school time. So they headed off. The ride was filled with silence, though Rachel had reached over at one point and taken one of his hands and he had held on tight through the rest of the ride.

When they got to her locker, she turned to him.

"Go get ready for your class," she said kindly. She stood on her tiptoes to brush a tender kiss against his cheek. "It'll be ok Noah," she said with a smile. He gave her a small smile in return before walking off.

"Rachel?" said a voice after a moment and Rachel turned to see Finn.

"I should have told you before, this time of year…"

"I know Finn," said Rachel softly. "He told me."

Finn's jaw dropped. "He told you? That his dad…"

Rachel nodded. "I had a feeling he never talked to you about it."

Finn shook his head. "Not once. I can't believe he actually said it." Rachel smiled sadly.

"I'm glad he is talking though…" said Finn before walking off. Rachel turned back to her locker and began to count down the minutes to the end of school.

* * *

The ride home was just as quiet as the ride to school. But instead of heading to do homework, Rachel pulled Noah into the living room and sat him on the sofa.

"Rach don't do this," he pleaded. "I can't." She squeezed his hand.

"I know this is hard," she said softly. "I know it hurts. But all I can do is to tell you to trust me. Trust me that if you talk about it, you'll feel better." There was silence for a moment.

"She still cries…" Rachel looked at him. His eyes were down, but what was most telling was his other hand that wasn't holding hers was clenched tightly into a fist.

"He never gave a rat's ass about us and she still cries over him. He knew. He knew what it would do to her! She was so close to giving birth… He knew she'd have a panic attack…" He broke off as he fought back tears.

"Noah," said Rachel softly. "You need to tell me what happened that day."

"I tried to stop him," he said turning pleading eyes to her. "I did. I tried to stop him."

"I know you did. I know," she assured, biting back tears.

"And my mom, she just wouldn't stop crying. She couldn't calm down," he continued, everything he had held back for years coming forward. He couldn't have stopped it if he tried. But the moment he had decided to trust Rachel with this everything broke and he felt like he was that little boy again. That powerless little boy…

"I tried…" he said, his voice cracking. His hand tightened on hers. She was his lifeline. "I tried to keep her calm. But then her breathing just kept getting faster and faster. I didn't know what to do!"

Silent tears streamed down Rachel's cheeks as she watched him relive that day. He tried to keep talking but all that came out was a sob.

"Then she fell…" he said after a couple tries to keep speaking, sobs shaking his body. "And she wouldn't wake up. I screamed. I screamed and screamed and screamed for help. I ran out into the street and one of the neighbors…" He began to pull away.

"I couldn't stop him… I couldn't help my mom… I thought my baby sister was gonna… I… I couldn't…" With a jolt, Rachel scrambled towards him.

"No, no, no, no, no, no," she repeated as she frantically took his face between her hands. "Look at me Noah. Look at me!" she cried. Tears continued to stream down both their faces.

"None of it is your fault. It's not your fault," she said. "Never, ever think that it's your fault."

Then somehow she was in his arms as he cried like she had never seen him do before. And she held him tight as she cried silently at the burden he had carried ever since that day.

"It was never your fault Noah. Never," she said.

"But I-"

"You were a boy!" she yelled pushing him back so she could look into his eyes. "And your father should have loved you and your mother and your sister. But he didn't and you couldn't stop that. No one could. And you did help your mom. You ran for help. It's not your fault!" she sobbed and something clicked inside Noah and somehow he was now the one comforting.

"Shhh," he said as he pulled her back into the hug. "I'm ok Rach. I'm ok." She shuddered as she cried.

"You never should have gone through that. You didn't deserve it. Oh Noah." A soft smile spread on his face. Slowly her tears began to stop and she pulled slightly out of the hug.

"You ok?" he asked her.

"I should be asking you that," she replied. He smiled and brushed his lips against hers.

"It still hurts, but you were right. It is a lot better."

"I never realized… Never thought…" said Rachel lowering her head, but he put a hand under her chin and lifted her head back up.

"Because I never gave you reason to," he said. "I thought nobody would ever notice. Or care."

"I care," said Rachel. "And so does Finn." Noah was stunned.

"He's the only other one who knows isn't he?" she asked and he nodded.

"I never told him."

"You didn't have to. All those years of seeing how you changed around now. He knew." There was silence for a moment before Noah smiled again and brushed his hand against her cheek.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Don't ever thank me for doing this," she said fiercely but smiled at him. He chuckled but smiled back. He sighed and scrubbed at his face.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"No," he replied. "But I can handle it."

"It's not your fault," she repeated taking his hand. He squeezed it with a smile.

"I know. But that doesn't mean I still can't be upset." Rachel nodded in realization. He would probably never get over his dad leaving. But living with that was a lot easier than living with the misplaced guilt of the situation.

They skipped their homework that night and spent it watching light hearted movies and laughing. Each laugh healing the heartache from earlier. They fell asleep on the couch, hand in hand.

* * *

The next morning while Rachel was getting dressed, Noah's mind drifted to Finn. True, they definitely weren't getting along. For damn's sake he still had a thing for Rachel… but… He chuckled to himself as he leaned back in the couch to stare at the ceiling. He should have given Finn more credit. He was the only one who any inkling of an idea of what he felt this time of year. Noah sighed though. It was tempting to try and fix things with Finn, which would all go to shit again if he found out about the baby. At the very least, he knew he owed Finn a thanks. If Rachel hadn't been so persistent, she wouldn't have known why he was pushing her away. In that case, Finn talking to Rachel could have saved their relationship. Noah wondered if Finn even knew that. Finn probably hadn't even realized it but in a way it almost made Noah more grateful. Finn had been so worried about him he had completely overlooked the opportunity he had. Rachel walked down the steps. He smiled and rose. She smiled, so happy to see the smile reach his eyes once again.

"Thank you," he said after kissing her briefly.

"I told you not to thank me for helping you last night," she reminded.

"I'm not thanking you for that," he said shaking his head. "I'm thanking you for caring." She smiled.

"That's another thing you don't have to thank me for."

"Well you'll have to deal with it," he replied with a smirk before heading out to the car.

When they got to school, Noah set out to find Finn. He found him at his locker, talking to Quinn.

"Hey man," said Noah.

"Sorry," he continued to Quinn. "Need to say this now." Quinn looked a little confused but nodded.

"Thanks," said Noah to Finn.

"You talked about it?" asked Finn, eyeing his friend. Noah nodded.

"I was kinda… blaming myself."

"Dude what the hell?" yelled Finn, punching Noah in the shoulder. "How the hell could that have been your fault?"

Noah chuckled for a moment. "Just being a dumbass I guess."

Finn relaxed. "You're ok then."

"Yeah," said Noah with a smile. "Thanks man."

"Just glad you're ok now. I always hated this time of year," said Finn. Noah smiled.

"Don't think you'll have that problem anymore," he said as he walked off.

"Good!" yelled Finn after him with a smile.

* * *

By that afternoon, rumors had begun to swirl about the Glee club getting cut from the yearbook. Luckily Noah had been able to keep Rachel from hearing them so far but knew that it was only a matter of time. So finally he decided to give up trying to prevent her from hearing headed off to the chorus room where the other Glee kids were gathering.

"Where's Rachel?" asked Kurt.

"Not here yet," replied Finn.

"Perfect. Glee club stands on a delicate precipice. We have all felt the cold humiliation of a slushy in the face. But as of right now, our relative anonymity as a club shields us from more severe persecution. The kind of which even Nate can't save us without outing his friendship with us. Swirlies. Patriotic wedgies.

"What's a patriotic wedgie?" asked Mercedes.

"It's when they hoist you up the flagpole by your undies," said Finn.

"Strangely it did make me feel more American," offered Artie which brought a few chuckles.

"Based on my investigation," continued Kurt. "I am of the opinion that a yearbook photo would only fuel the flames of anti-Glee Club terror. I've done a little library research." He went through his points and by the end of it, everyone was extremely uncomfortable with the idea of a picture.

"Oh hey guys," said Mr. Schue as he walked in. "Ah, looking at old Thuderclaps?"

"It's really unsettling," said Artie.

"And totally unfair," said Mr. Schue. "Hey can I borrow one of these?" he asked pulling a yearbook out of Kurt's hands. "You know what? This year's Thunderclap is gonna have a Glee club photo with every one of your smiling faces. You have my word on it."

Awkward smiles and uncomfortable looks were thrown towards Mr. Schue as he left the room. This was going to end badly.

* * *

The next day in Glee club, Mr. Schue walked in happily which caused quite a few smiles to drop.

"Hey guys, great news," he said. "Glee club gets a photo in the Thunderclap." Everyone reluctantly celebrated.

"Yep," continued Mr. Schue. "It's gonna show everyone at this school that Glee Club is on its way up. When we win Regionals, those Claps are going to be collector's items. All of your classmates are going to be begging for your autographs."

Everyone halfheartedly agreed with him again.

"But I had to compromise to do it," said Mr. Schue and a few kids perked up a little. "Um, we only get a quarter page in back. Which means we have to pick two team captains to appear in the photo. So tomorrow we're gonna put it to a vote. Exciting huh? All right," he said enthusiastically.

That night, Noah didn't even bother going over to Rachel's house, knowing she'd be preparing for the vote the next day, despite his assurances that she didn't have to do anything to be voted for.

The next day at Glee club, they all got there early and Nate showed up for the first time in a while.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Hockey practices are starting to pick up a little."

"No worries," said Matt, everyone else smiling and nodding in agreement.

There were a few moments of awkward silence before Mercedes spoke up.

"Well we're all here. I guess we should vote."

"With your permission," said Rachel heading up to stand in front of the room.

"Dude why didn't you stop her?" whispered Mike to Puck.

"Um, because I'm not God?" he hissed back. "You try stopping her when she gets like that."

"I have prepared a few words," continued Rachel, luckily not hearing the whispered conversation.

"I nominate Rachel," said Mercedes.

"Second," said Kurt immediately. Rachel smiled at them all.

"All right, lets vote up in this piece. I gotta go hit the gym and load up the 'Guns of Puckerone' for the football picture."

"Looks like everybody voted for Rachel," said Mr. Schue after going through the votes. "Including Rachel." She smiled at everyone.

"But we need two captains guys," said Mr. Schue.

"Why two?" questioned Quinn. "We're fine with having Rachel represent us in the Thunderclap by herself."

"We'd actually prefer it," said Kurt. Both Nate and Mr. Schue frowned.

"Are you guys ashamed of being in Glee club?" Nate asked Kurt and Mercedes after rehearsal.

"No," they both replied.

"Then why don't you want to be in the picture?"

"No picture keeps us out of the way of swirlies and patriotice wedgies," explained Kurt.

"We love Glee Club," said Mercedes.

"We're not ashamed," said Kurt. Nate sighed but nodded. But he watched them as they left.

"You are…" he said to himself. "Being ashamed of something you love is as bad as being ashamed of who you are." He stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed again before leaving the choir room.

* * *

The next day Rachel came up to Noah.

"So Mr. Schue wants me to find a cocaptain for the photo," she said and he sighed knowing what she was going to ask.

"You don't want to…" she said slowly.

"Rach, it's not that I don't want to it's that it wouldn't be a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Rumors about us have been flying ever since that day and if we be in the Glee club photo together, just us, that will bring more attention to you, most of it bad and I won't do that."

"You should just tell me you don't want to do the picture with me." Noah turned to her and took her hand.

"What I said is true and don't think I'm lying to get out of it. Besides, I'm not that well known of a member. Try to find someone else ok?"

Rachel smiled at him. She didn't agree with his logic behind his decision but was a little touched that he had actually thought about doing the picture with her.

By the end of the day she had gotten Finn to be in the picture with her. Noah was a little annoyed that it had to be Finn but let it go fairly quickly.

The next day after Glee club the football players headed to practice. After practice, Noah was just about to leave. Mike and Matt had already left, but Finn was still in his shoulder pads. He had practiced a play a few more times before heading to the locker room. Finn started shrugging his shoulder pads off and Karofsky and Azemio ran towards him while his arms were tangled up.

"Hey what the hell?" yelled Finn.

"Hey man. Shh. We're practicing, dude. Chill out," laughed Azemio as he and Karofsky started drawing on Finn's face.

"We heard you were gonna be in the Glee club photo and we don't want to mess up, messin it up."

"Screw you Karofsky!" yelled Finn. "I'm sick of you pulling people down."

Noah knew he should have stepped in by now, but like others still in the locker room, just watched how everything played out.

"Hey, man don't talk that kumbayeyah crap," said Azemio. "All right you know this system's put in place to keep order around here." Finn pushed him.

"Hey, you know what?" said Azemio not even acknowledging Finn. "Look I'm gonna give you some options ok? You want me to put the Hitler mustache on your Glee club picture or do you want the buck teeth on your Glee club picture? Which one you want? Man it don't matter to me either way. I'll put both of em." Finn pushed at him again.

"Hey how do you spell 'loser'?" asked Karofsky. "I'm gonna write it on his forehead."

"His big ol' potato head," laughed Azemio as they both walked off. "You can write a whole haiku on that thing." Finn watched them go before sighing and just leaning against his locker.

Noah saw the look on Finn's face and knew probably even before the quarterback had completely decided. Finn wasn't going to show up at the picture… He sighed, quietly closed his locker and left the locker room.

* * *

The next day Rachel woke up with a bad feeling. She frowned. Picture day wasn't till tomorrow. So she pushed it aside and got ready for school. But there the bad feeling only grew, and she saw the same looks of grim apprehension on other glee club member's faces including Kurt, Tina, and Mercedes. The day went fine, so Rachel was starting to think she was just overreacting to something and happily headed to Glee rehearsal. However, as the clock headed towards the start of Glee, Nate still hadn't shown up and everyone's faces slowly fell. He had told them last time, he'd be here. The door opened and many looked up hopefully but it was only Mr. Schue. He frowned when he looked up.

"Where's Nate?" Everyone shrugged, many looking worried.

"I'm sure something came up and he forgot to tell you guys," assured Mr. Schue right away. "Now let's get started." The Glee kids half heartedly got up to begin, all trying to ignore that little voice in the back of their head saying…

_Something's wrong…_

* * *

So, I want to talk about when Noah admitted everything he thought and felt about the day his dad left. I was crying when I wrote it. No lie. What got me was the fact that when he's telling this, he's not Puck. He's Noah that little boy who couldn't do anything to stop what was happening to his family. I hope I got that across and the passage is as powerful for you was it was for me. As for the ending... haha

Yes I did leave you right there :P I wanted to go on but figured one huge emotional event at a time. hahahaha that actually gives it even more of a cliffhanger doesn't it? :P

In non-story news, I am very interested in seeing tonight's episode and this new character Blaine who by all accounts is probably going to be Kurt's boyfriend. We'll have to see how this will change my plans for this story heehee

Thanks for reading! See you guys next time hope you enjoyed it! :D


	34. Chapter 33

SURPRISE! Yeah surprise even for me cuz in all likelihood you guys were gonna have to wait at least till the weekend for this chapter but a couple unexpected circumstances contributed to this. One: my afternoon opened up because when it gets to the end of the semester even on good days your brain is a little tired. Today was not a good day. Two: To balance out the not a good day, last night's Glee episode was amazingly inspiring (I'll talk more about the episode at the end) and even makes this chapter a little bit more significant so here it is! :D Enjoy

* * *

**Last time:**

**"Where's Nate?" Everyone shrugged, many looking worried.**

**"I'm sure something came up and he forgot to tell you guys," assured Mr. Schue right away. "Now let's get started." The Glee kids half heartedly got up to begin, all trying to ignore that little voice in the back of their head saying…**

**_Something's wrong…_**

**_

* * *

_**

Mr. Schue finally called the end of the rehearsal and many people looked, upset, to the clock. Nate hadn't shown up, or answered his phone. Their teacher hung around for a moment before reassuring the kids once again and leaving. None of them followed him.

"Something's wrong," said Kurt, pacing a little.

"We don't know that," said Rachel trying to calm him down.

"Let's just wait around a little bit, see if he shows up," suggested Matt, and everyone seemed to agree.

"What happens if he doesn't show up?" asked Kurt.

"We search this whole school. We don't find him, we assume he got grounded," replied Puck. A lot of people seemed to relax at the grounding idea, but Kurt couldn't shake the bad feeling gnawing at his heart. So they stayed, the conversations quiet and forced. The people most worried, other than Kurt, were the football players. Of course the worst case scenario would be the revelation of Nate's sexuality. They all knew they would feel awkward if they found out one of their teammates they had hung out with, showered with was gay, but thanks to Kurt and the Glee club they were much more open about the idea. The other hockey players on the other hand… The minutes ticked by slowly and eventually Kurt made himself turn away from the clock. Finally the handle to the door moved and everyone's head whipped around immediately.

"Oh my God…" whispered Tina. Kurt knew his jaw had dropped. It had dropped right with his heart, though his heart kept dropping. Everyone was horrified and for a moment no one moved.

Then Nate took a staggering step into the choir room and the boys moved into action. Kurt was frozen, just taking in his friend.

Nate's arms were wrapped around his rib cage, he was staggering slightly, his face was bruised, and blood had crusted around his nose. Then the sight of him was blocked out as Mike, Matt, Finn, and Puck helped him over to a chair. Rachel was the next to move, flying to her case and pulling out a small first aid kit and rushing back over to Nate.

"What happened?" she asked softly as she knelt by him and began to tend to him. Nate laughed once dryly.

"I couldn't take it anymore."

"Take what?" asked Finn. Nate closed his eyes and sighed. The boys all looked away, muttering curses under their breath, knowing his answer before he said it.

"I just couldn't take them making fun of guys anymore," said Nate. The shock was slowly wearing off the rest of the Glee club and Kurt slowly began moving toward Nate.

"So you stood up to all of them? Nate, we're used to it," said Rachel as she gently began wiping off the dried blood from his nose. He shook his head.

"It was just a normal day for all of you guys. It pisses me off but yeah I guess I've gotten used to it too."

"Then… what happened?" asked Quinn, her face horrified as a thought of what might have happened crossed her mind. Nate offered a half smile to her and gave a discrete nod, knowing by the look on her face she had figured it out. She kept staring at him but grabbed for Finn's hand.

"Quinn what is it?" he asked as he wrapped a hand around her shoulders. She just turned her head into his side as she fought back tears. After a moment Finn looked back to Nate who took a deep breath.

"The things they were saying about Kurt though…" Kurt jolted as though he had been shot.

_No. No you… Why?... Why get hurt for me?_

"They did this just because you told them to leave Kurt alone?" asked Matt. "It's so overboard…"

"That's because I didn't stop at telling them to leave him alone." Jolts ran through the football players, and Rachel's hands froze from tending to Nate.

"You didn't…" she whispered. Nate smiled sadly and closed his eyes.

"They were saying all these horrible, idiotic things. I'm never repeating them. God I didn't even know some of those words. I flipped. Just lost it. Told them Kurt wasn't a freak. He's just a normal kid who's different from them. But everyone's a little different right?" He laughed once again before his face fell.

"They laughed…" he said his voice strained, and everyone could hear how upset he was.

"Laughed at him. _Laughed_ at him just for who he is. And then I'm telling them that if Kurt's a freak, then I'm a freak too. And they stopped for a moment." The rest of the Glee club that hadn't realized yet froze. Kurt felt himself slowly slide to the floor, denial screaming through him.

_Please don't say it… Please you didn't…_

"Told them I was bi but they never thought I was a freak. Why should they make fun of Kurt?"

Everyone's eyes flashed to Kurt for a moment before looking back to Nate.

Kurt was having trouble breathing, his chest tight as he tried to process what Nate had said. His eyes never left the hockey player though. Nate was caught up in his memory, his eyes distant as he continued talking.

"They were quiet and I kept yelling. But then one of them snapped out of it and punched me in the face. Then everyone… " He shook his head, pulling himself out of the memory. "When I woke up they were gone. I came here."

"You were knocked out?" questioned Rachel. She was still working on the dried blood. It was slow going because she didn't want to hurt him or make his nose start bleeding again.

"Yeah," he replied. "I don't know how long."

"Who started it?" demanded Mike. The shock was starting to wear off and now the anger was coming forward.

"Who do you think?" replied Nate, his tone dark.

"Kurt!" yelled Mercedes, surprising everyone.

Kurt had only been able to keep listening to Nate's story, the tightness in his chest growing. He had been aware at some point of clutching at his chest with one of his hands, his grip tight on his shirt. Each breath was shallower than the last. And when Mercedes had looked to him, he had been gasping for air.

"Kurt?" questioned Nate, turning his head looking for him and trying to get out of the chair. "What's wrong?"

Kurt couldn't answer. His head spun and nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Rachel tried to keep Nate in his chair while Mercedes tried to calm down Kurt. Nate finally just pushed right past Rachel out of the chair and limped over to Kurt.

"Kurt," he said kneeling down beside him. A groan of pain interrupted him and he clutched at his ribs before speaking again. "Kurt," he repeated through gritted teeth trying to get the soprano to focus.

"I think he's having a panic attack," said Mercedes, her voice anxious. She didn't know what to do. Rachel looked to Noah and for a second she saw a haunted look on his face before that ever so familiar mask clicked into place.

"You need to get him to breathe deeper," he said as he moved over. "My mom had a few of these after dad left." Quite a few kids looked at him, surprised. Not once had he ever mentioned anything about his family, let alone about the father who had abandoned him.

"He keeps this up we'll have to call an ambulance," continued Noah. Nate had never looked away from Kurt, trying to catch his eyes and get him to focus on him.

"Listen to me Kurt," he said firmly and Kurt's eyes finally focused a little. "You have to breathe deeper."

But Kurt either didn't understand or just couldn't even absorb what Nate was saying. Slowly Kurt's head began to shake back and forth in denial.

"Not for me," everyone heard slip out of his mouth between gasps. Nate's eyes widened before firming.

"Yes for you," he said firmly. "If I could protect you from those idiots just by coming out, I'd do it a million times over."

Kurt's eyes widened and his breathing shortened even further. Noah stepped then, turning Kurt away from Nate.

"You listen to me Beyonce. You need to breath," he said taking exaggeratedly deep breaths. Kurt's eyes focused on him and after a moment, his breathing was in time with Noah's but at almost twice the speed of Noah.

"Slower. Deeper breaths," coached Noah, and Rachel took a half step towards him, seeing a haunted look appear in his eyes. Noah was trying to block out the flashbacks to when his dad left, but it didn't help that seeing Kurt this upset also pissed him off. And the effort to keep Kurt calm was cracking the mask he had on. The others were looking at him with a great deal of respect, seeing that tension on his face yet he was still trying to help. But only Rachel and maybe Finn knew how truly he upset was at the moment. She walked over behind him, kneeled down and wrapped her arms around his waist, her body pressing against his back. Noah's eyes closed for a second, thanking her for understanding. She had no idea how much just that little contact helped. But he opened them quickly, focusing back on Kurt. While Noah had battled with the ghost's of his past, Kurt's breathing had finally slowed to a normal speed.

But now tears were rolling down his cheeks. Noah winced, the tears falling in so similar a way… He could see his mom's face over top of Kurt's and they flickered back and forth for a moment. Then Kurt's eyes slid closed and he fell forward. Noah caught him easily and laid him on the floor. There were a few exclamations, one of the loudest from Nate but Noah spoke up.

"He's fine. This is normal. He needs time to reboot," he said stiffly before turning and crushing Rachel to him, fighting for composure. Nate shifted from kneeling to sitting, staring at Kurt. Tina walked over and picked up Rachel's first aid kit and began tending to Nate. Silence filled the room. No one knew how to react, what to say. Every now and then a proud glance was thrown Noah's way, as each kid finally realized how difficult it had been for him to help Kurt, but he had done it anyway. Rachel was whispering to him, rubbing his back, anything she could do to calm him down.

"God what a fucking mess I made," said Nate finally breaking the silence.

"This is not your fault," said Mercedes moving closer to him.

"If I had just kept my mouth shut. I mean ever since I became your friends I've been working so hard to keep you guys from getting hurt. And I end up being the one hurting him," he said looking to Kurt again

"Listen to me," said Mercedes, her strong voice drawing Nate's gaze. "Kurt cares for you. We all do. We've all had people stand up for us," she said her eyes flicking to the football team members, "but the backlash was in the form of slushies. Kurt's had some of us stand up for him before, but we're all at the same level of loser in this school. It means a lot but it doesn't." Nate looked confused.

"So? How is me standing up for him any different?"

"You're a jock. You're pretty popular."

"They're jocks," said Nate pointing to Mike, Matt, and Finn. Mercedes sighed.

"I know it doesn't make sense. I guess the closest thing to sense that I can give you is that they only ever stood up for the Glee club as a whole. You stood up specifically for Kurt. Plus…" She looked down at Kurt before looking back to Nate.

"You love hockey. Standing up to them is one thing but coming out… you just gave up hockey. For him. At least that's how I think he sees it." She paused. "It's how I see it."

"Yeah but…" said Nate looking over at Kurt. Mercedes put a hand on his shoulder.

"You heard Puck. He'll be fine. Besides, the last thing Kurt needs to see when he wakes up is you second guessing about coming out." Nate jolted and nodded. By now anger was the primary emotion in the room. Mike was pacing angrily until Matt grabbed hold of his shoulder.

"I thought Karofsky learned his lesson," fumed Santana.

"Yeah about women," said Mike bitterly. Santana scoffed.

"Yeah well let's see if a Cheerios blacklist of the hockey team will get through to them." Everyone perked up a little at that. Cheerios blacklists were infamous. Every Cheerio was banned from even giving those on the blacklist a second look, let alone a hook up. A sniffle was heard and everyone looked to Brittany who was beginning to cry. Santana moved over immediately.

"I'm okay Brittany," assured Nate with a smile. "Really."

"They hit you until you blacked out… that's not okay…" said the blonde. Nate shook his head.

"Yes they hit me but not till I blacked out. One of them nailed me really good and I fell. I hit my head on the floor, and when I woke up nothing else hurt that didn't hurt before I fell, so they didn't keep hitting me."

"Yeah they just left you there," growled Finn.

"Shit what are we gonna do tomorrow?" worried Matt. "He's a target now."

"You'll do nothing," said Nate and everything stopped for a moment as everyone looked to him. "None of you are getting hurt for me."

"Okay you are an idiot," fumed Tina. "You still haven't learned!"

"You just gave up hockey for us, for Kurt and you expect us to sit back and do nothing after you got beat up? Do nothing while we watch the school tear you to pieces?" demanded Mike.

"You're insulting us to ask us to do nothing," said Quinn.

"I stood up for you guys because you're my friends," started Nate.

"Then let us do the same for you!" retorted Artie. "What makes you so special that you can defend your friends but we can't defend ours?" Nate sighed and looked down.

"That's not what I mean."

"It's what it sounds like," said Brittany softly.

"If you hadn't fallen and blacked out, how far would they have gone?" demanded Noah who had finally gotten a complete hold on his emotions.

"…I don't know," admitted Nate.

"Then you can't ask us to do nothing," said Noah and Nate finally, reluctantly nodded.

"You're such an idiot," came a soft angry voice and everyone turned to see Kurt sitting up, glaring at Nate. "The rest of your high school life is going to be hell. You just lost the one thing you love the most, and for what? Some idiots were calling me names I've heard before? I've ignored before? You shouldn't have done that. I didn't ask you to do that. You didn't have to do that."

"Yes I did Kurt," said Nate moving so he was sitting closer to him.

"Why?" the soprano demanded.

"Because you don't deserve it," replied Nate looking him right in the eye. Kurt glared back at him for a moment, but then his chin quivered and the next thing the rest of them knew, he was crying into Nate's chest. Nate was surprised at first before he hugged Kurt comfortingly.

"Kurt, you've gotten to a point where you've been made fun of so much, that you convince your friends to stop standing up for you because it doesn't bother you. Because you can ignore it. No one can ignore it. Every time one of your friends hears those words aimed at you, they get angry for you. And I'll let you in on a little secret. It will always bother you. It makes me so angry that you've had to deal with this stuff so much you've actually managed to convince yourself it doesn't bother you when it does so much. And that stops now, whether you like it or not. It stopped half an hour ago when I stood up for you. And I think everyone here is with me when I say, we're not going to stop standing up for you anymore."

Kurt pulled out of Nate's hug to look him in the eye.

"Why?" Nate smiled and shook his head a little as if the answer was obvious.

"Because we care for you. And because we're your friends." Kurt began to cry again but fairly quickly got a hold of himself. He was still crying a little but he looked across at Nate.

"Then because we care for you and we're your friends, we're protecting you tomorrow." Nate gave a half smile and shook his head slightly.

"Fine," he finally agreed. "But not Puck. You're not getting expelled for me," said Nate before Puck had a chance to argue. "Standing up for me is one thing but we both know despite the circumstances, you get in another fight, you're gone." Puck reluctantly nodded.

"Bring changes of clothes," said Rachel. "You're going to need them." There was silence for a moment before Nate sighed.

"Well I guess I have to figure out how to explain this to my parents."

"They know you're bi right?" asked Tina. Nate nodded.

"I don't think you should tell them about this…" said Kurt.

"Why not? They put the pressure on Principal Figgins things might change around here," said Rachel.

"Things will never change around here," said Kurt fiercely. He sighed. "There's no need to worry your parents about what you'll be going through at school now." Everyone seemed to agree at that thought, even Nate but he was reluctant.

"What am I supposed to do? Lie about why I'm hurt?" he asked.

"Stay over at my house," replied Kurt. "By the time you go home tomorrow, your face will look ok enough for them to think it came from hockey." Nate still hesitated slightly.

"Please," said Kurt. "Let me do this for you." Nate finally relented.

"We'll see you tomorrow," said Tina.

"Get some rest. Tomorrow the war starts…" said Rachel. The rest of the kids all said their goodbyes and soon the room was empty except for Kurt and Nate. Kurt stood up and helped Nate up.

"Your family knows?" asked Nate as they headed out of the school.

"My dad," said Kurt. "I told him after we won that football game." He laughed once. "He said he had known since I was 3." Nate smiled.

"What about your mom?" Kurt's smile faded a little.

"She died. A while ago."

"I'm sorry Kurt," said Nate as they got to his car.

"Don't worry about it," replied Kurt. Nate pulled his keys out of his pants, wincing slightly.

"You're driving," he said tossing the keys to Kurt.

"As if there was any question," replied Kurt with a smile.

* * *

Before long they had gotten to Kurt's house.

"You're late," called his dad as Kurt opened the door.

"There was a… well…" said Kurt. His dad came out of the kitchen, stopping at the sight of Nate.

"Dad, this is Nate," said Kurt.

"Kurt…" replied his dad slowly.

"I don't have a boyfriend Dad," said Kurt before he could continue. "Nate's just a friend." Burt seemed to relax a little.

"Burt Hummel," he said in introduction.

"Nice to meet you," replied Nate.

"So… what happened here?" asked Burt. "Is he in the Glee club with you?"

"No, I'm on the hockey team," replied Nate. "But I'm friends with the Glee club. And seeing your son proud of who he is, gave me the courage to admit that I am bisexual to the Glee club. But I had decided to keep it quiet so I could stay on the hockey team."

"They found out huh?" asked Burt.

"I told them," replied Nate, drawing a surprised expression out of the older Hummel. "Trying to stop them from making fun of Kurt." There was a long moment of silence.

"His parents know about his sexuality but I didn't think it was a good idea to worry them about what happened and about…" explained Kurt before trailing off. "Can he say here tonight?" he asked, not finishing his earlier sentence. Burt sighed, knowing what Kurt had meant anyway.

"You were right to think not to worry his parents Kurt. You're welcome here whenever you want Nate."

"Thank you," replied Nate.

"Kurt, can you check on dinner?" asked Burt and Kurt went to do that.

"So…" said Burt hesitantly. "There really isn't anything going on between you two?" Nate smiled.

"No. I only see Kurt as a friend and he likes someone else right now." Burt winced ever so slightly but approached Nate.

"Thank you…" he said softly. Nate smiled.

"You're welcome."

"I know I'm still a little…"

"It's a difficult thing to accept, even for a parent," said Nate. "But you love your son. And what you just said, that you're still a little awkward about it. 'Still' means you've been working on it. Just because you aren't ready to talk about boyfriends doesn't mean you don't accept it." Burt looked really surprised before smiling and just beckoning him to the kitchen.

* * *

Later that night, Kurt had gone to bed and Nate was settled on the couch upstairs. Burt paused by him on the way to his room.

"You're really going to help him aren't you?" he asked.

"I'm going to do my best," replied Nate. Burt turned and smiled to himself as he headed off.

"I'm glad you two are friends." Nate smiled. Now that he was out, he was going to make the most of it. Kurt was doing exceptionally well dealing with the bullies, but he was also internalizing a lot of the stress associated with that. As he closed his eyes Burt's words echoed in his head. And a thought responded to them.

_Damn right I'm going to help him._

* * *

Ok first off, the majority of this chapter has been written almost since I created Nate. It's gone through some editing but from Nate appearing until Mercedes comforted Nate had been written for a long time haha. As mentioned before, last night's episode makes Karofsky's actions in this more significant.

Speaking of last night's episode, the actor who plays Karofsky will forever have my respect for how perfectly and wonderfully he acted that part. Just stunning. However Blaine has thrown me for a loop. I think I've mentioned it before but I have planned for Kurt to get a boyfriend, even have some scenes written. I like what I have, a lot. But I like Blaine and Kurt together just as much. Darren Criss is super hot and as I said in a reply to one review from my last chapter I think it says a lot that despite how hot he is all I want to see is him kissing Kurt.

A side note. Kurtofsky while an amusing name, will not appear in anyway other than what happened in the canon episode in this universe.

I'm immensely happy the show has finally started talking about the Noah underneath the Puck haha. It was a great start and I sincerely hope they don't stop there.

Anyways I hope this chapter was wonderful for you guys and is just as powerful as the last :D Thanks for reading!


	35. Chapter 34

Confession: The reason this is so late is because I have been so conflicted with how I'm going to integrate this story with Season 2 of Glee, especially since I've been so opposed to the way they've been writing certain characters, namely Rachel. However last night's episode redeemed the whole season in my opinion and got me so inspired it wasn't even funny. The Puckleberry moments as well as Lea Michele's tweet: "Did everyone enjoy glee tonight? Are you as sad as me about Finn and Rachel? I smell Puckleberry... :)" got me so excited it wasn't even funny. All in all, I've made a decision regarding this story and I've decided to continue following the storyline as the canon gives us as best I can as opposed to branching off into my own story, mainly because I think I've eliminated almost any drama within the Glee club because everyone's so chummy right now. But anyway here's the end of the Mattress story line. Enjoy!

* * *

The next morning, the bruises on Nate's face had started to appear more.

"It's not as bad as I expected though," said Nate. "Looks like I was just involved in a really rough pickup hockey game."

"I don't know what that means," said Kurt while handing him a cream used to keep the swelling down on the bruises. Nate just laughed.

"My eye isn't swollen shut, my nose only has a really slight bruise. Good things." Kurt just shook his head and soon they left for school. The whole Glee club met them outside the school.

"This is ridiculous," protested Nate, seeing all of them there.

"Hey you agreed yesterday," argued Finn.

"Not about Puck. And besides you know I'm going to get a slushy shower first thing."

"Not if we can help it," said Artie.

"Just think about it for a minute," said Nate. "If they don't get me right away they're just going to get angry at you guys. Just let them slushy me then maybe the rest of the day won't be so bad." Everyone hesitated. They didn't want to just watch him get slushied but at the same time they knew he was right about Karofsky and the rest getting angry if they didn't get their revenge.

"Fine," relented Mike.

"Ladies, on standby in the nearest bathroom," said Kurt and the girls headed into the school.

"Puck," said Nate meaningfully and Puck sighed.

"Fine, fine. I'm still pissed about this."

"I'd be worried if you weren't," said Finn with a smirk. Puck rolled his eyes and headed into school. Nate looked at the rest of the guys.

"You let me get slushied," he said warningly. They all nodded though reluctantly. Nate walked into school. The whispers had already started as he walked down the hall. He saw the looks, heard the taunts and jeers. He smirked as he heard someone call him gay.

"Should've known they wouldn't have clarified between bi and gay," he said to himself. He saw the hockey team come around a corner, everyone with slushies in their hands. He stopped and stuck his hands in his pockets, looking at them and waiting. They surrounded him.

"You know there is a difference between bi and gay," he said with a smirk. The hockey players bristled.

"Not that I can see," sneered Karofsky and threw his slushy, the others following his lead. Nate had been prepared for it, but the cold still shocked him. But instead of embarrassment as the laughter around him started, he just felt angry that his friends in Glee club had gone through this before. Soon enough the hockey team had left. Nate reached up and wiped the bits of slushy out of his eyes to see Finn, Artie, Mike, and Matt heading towards him.

"Careful," warned Finn as Nate moved to take a step and almost slipped. Nate made his way out of the circle of slushy that had been left behind.

"Where to?" he asked. The boys took him to a nearby restroom where he was then pulled into the girls side. Within a few seconds he had been pushed into a chair, had a blanket put over him and the girls were already washing the slushy out of his hair.

"You really have a system," he said. The girl's plus Kurt all looked to him, hearing the underlying anger in his voice.

"The past is in the past," said Kurt. "Don't let it affect you now."

"You need to focus on you," put in Tina. Nate sighed and let it go. Before long, his hair was clean.

"Here," said Santana pushing some clothes into Nate's hands. Rachel and Mercedes took the blanket off Nate and put it into a waiting plastic bag.

"Change in the stall and put your slushied clothes in here," said Kurt.

"I'll wash them tonight and get them back to you," said Rachel. "I've figured out a way to saved clothes. Though they'll still be stained a little."

"Whose are these?" asked Nate.

"Mike's," replied Brittany.

"And we have some others from Matt too," said Mercedes. "In case you get slushied again."

"You really planned this out didn't you?" said Nate, slightly shocked.

"Go," said Tina. "Before you catch a cold." Nate smiled.

"Thanks guys."

* * *

Nate had been right about getting the slushy out of the way first. The rest of the day was just ducking insults and jeers as he walked through the hallway. He did have a couple nasty run-ins with a few ex girlfriends who hadn't been to happy to hear about his sexual preference. He just shrugged it all off. By the next day everything had pretty much died down.

"He calls this died down," muttered Rachel angrily, hearing the whispers of people as she walked down the hallway.

"It really is," said Noah. "I mean he got slushied once."

"Don't say that," moaned Rachel, her eyes darting around. "You'll jinx it!" Noah smirked.

"But really it's just ridiculous. Who in their right mind thinks that a guy being bi is just a cover for being gay? You've already admitted you have same-sex attractions why continue to say you're bi?"

"Just calm down Rach," said Noah. "People are being stupid, as they always have been. It's not bothering Nate so we shouldn't let it bother us." Rachel smiled.

"I guess you're right."

* * *

The rest of the day went as smoothly as it could be in the situation up until right before Glee. Kurt and Mercedes walked into the choir room to see Nate staring blankly at his hands in one of the chairs.

"Nate?" said Mercedes cautiously.

"I knew this would probably come after a few days ago. I was even expecting it," he said hollowly. "But I still…" Kurt shook his head in realization.

"They wouldn't." Nate chuckled dryly still staring at his hands.

"You should know better by now Kurt." Kurt's face was covered in sadness, not knowing what to say. Luckily Mike walked in. His shoulders slumped as he immediately knew but he walked over and sat down next to Nate.

"I'm sorry." A faint smile crossed Nate's lips. Kurt walked over as well, sitting on the other side of Nate.

"I'm sorry you got kicked off the hockey team for me," he said.

"_Never_. Think that," said Nate fiercely turning his head to Kurt. "Never. I got kicked off the hockey team because people are too caught up in their own preconceptions." Kurt hesitated but eventually nodded. Nate sighed. As the rest of the Glee club filed in and realized what had happened, they all offered their own apologies to Nate. Mr. Schue walked in last.

"What happened Nate?" he asked seeing everyone surrounding him.

"I got kicked off the hockey team because I told them I was bi."

"What? Why did you tell them?" asked Mr. Schue.

"To try and get them to stop making fun of the Glee club and Kurt," replied Nate. Mr. Schue looked stunned.

"But they can't kick you out just because of that. I'm sure there's no rule that says they can do that. We should go to Figgins-"

"Mr. Schue," interrupted Nate. "Thanks, really, for saying that but to be honest I don't want to be back on the team."

"But you love hockey," said Kurt shocked.

"Yes," replied Nate. "But there are other places to play it than at school. I could never play for that team again." Everyone seemed to understand.

"I mean sure I'm upset I won't get to play regularly, but…" Nate trailed off. "I just can't play with them anymore. So I guess I'm gonna be at all your rehearsals now," he laughed. Everyone smiled.

"We're glad to have you," said Mr. Schue. "All right guys let's get started."

* * *

The next day was picture day, and at the time Mr. Schue had told her, Rachel showed up at the room that had been arranged for the photographer. But as the minutes ticked past, Finn didn't show up and she had to take the photo by herself. But being upset she couldn't bring herself to smile so she went over to a mirror to calm herself down. As she stared into the mirror, trying to pull herself together, she saw a figure appear in the doorway and when she recognized it, she had to fight back tears.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Knew Finn wouldn't show up," replied Noah, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"What about the extra attention?"

"Talked to Nate. He thinks Karofsky would get pissed if anyone did anything over slushies to you. Plus I just can't fight in school."

"Noah," she scolded, before hugging him. "Thank you."

"No prob babe. Let's take the photo."

The photographer took two or three photos.

"Great," he said, moving to turn off the lights and stuff.

"Wait, wait, wait. That-that's it?" said Rachel.

"Babe, it's just like a school photo," said Noah getting up. "It's no big deal."

"I practiced over 18 different poses for this shoot…" Noah hung his head. She would have. "..and I haven't even shown you any of my over-the-left-shoulder poses, see?"

"Sorry kid. I got to blow. I got a casting session in half an hour."

"A-A casting session for what?" said Rachel. Noah wasn't paying attention. Once he had heard 18 poses, he zoned out because he knew nothing he could say would discourage her now.

"My brother-in-law is shooting a commercial for his store. I'm directing it. I just do these school photos for the money." Rachel started to cry and Noah snapped out of his zoning.

"Aw Rach come on," he said, exasperated.

"Uh, wa-wa- okay," said the photographer. "Wait. No. Don't. I can take a couple more pictures for you."

"I can cry on demand," said Rachel looking up.

"Jesus Rachel," Noah said, throwing up his hands.

"It's one of my many talents," continued Rachel, ignoring him for the moment. "I'm very versatile. And aside from nudity and the exploitation of animals, I'll pretty much do anything to break into the business." Noah sighed and started to head for the door but Rachel grabbed hold of his arm but never broke her eye contact with the photographer.

"W-well you certainly seem talented and all but I-I need… There's other speaking parts in this thing. I need like a bunch of other actors too," said the photographer.

"I can help with that," said Rachel. Noah's head rose and a smile slowly spread across his face.

* * *

A little while later, Rachel and Noah had gathered almost everyone in the choir room.

"I'd like to call this meeting to order," said Rachel walking over to close the other door to the choir room. Finn caught the door at the last minute and they looked at each other for a moment.

"Hello Finn. How nice of you to show," said Rachel icily and Noah had to force the smirk off his face.

"Look, I'm sorry. The guys were harassing me in the locker room about it. They said if I took the Glee club photo, they'd make me choose between a Hitler mustache or buck teeth. And I can't rock either of those looks." Rachel just shook her head, in complete shock at what Finn was saying. He sighed and went to sit next to Quinn. She gave him an odd look, as though almost disbelieving that the reason he had not shown up to the picture was so self centered.

"Do you think I have a potato head?" he asked her. Quinn just looked away.

"Look, I realize now that all of you think that Glee Club is just a joke," said Rachel. "Okay? And you're convinced that we can't win and you're content to sit idle by until Figgins cancels the club."

"And the diva is back," muttered Kurt under his breath.

"Rachel you do realize that like everything you just said is wrong," said Nate looking at her like she had been smoking something.

"Well, I'm about to present you a rare opportunity," said Rachel after a brief pause, her tone indicating that it didn't matter if she had been right or wrong because this was more important. "The opportunity to become… stars." The Glee club looked at each other, Noah failing to hide the smirk growing on his face since he already knew what was going on.

"How?" asked Quinn.

"We've all been cast in a local commercial." Everyone gasped, excited looks on their faces.

"Are you serious?" asked Finn.

"Yes, Finn," said Rachel, her tone going hard and Noah had to swallow a chuckle. "And while all of you have been so concerned with your appearance in this school…" She paused.

"Not all of you," she corrected glancing for a moment to Nate. "I've landed Glee Club its first big break. Simply put, making us all celebrities."

By now the whole Glee club was excited, looking to each other.

"Okay, and no one messes with celebrities or defaces their pictures," finished Rachel.

"What's the commercial?" asked Tina.

"Hold onto your hats and get ready to sell… some mattresses." The Glee club broke into talks about how excited they were, what they were going to get for the commercial, practicing their camera faces, and just general excitement.

* * *

Before they knew it, it was time to shoot the commercial. They all got ready at the mattress store.

"I can't believe we're finally breaking into the biz," said Tina.

"You guys, I want us to always remember this moment. Soon there may be agents and managers and movie deals. But right now I want us to remember what it feels like to be here together as a team."

"Whatever," said Mercedes. "As soon as I get my record deal, I'm not speaking to any of you." She turned to fake glare at Mike and Matt who just laughed at her. The photographer from the school and the owner of the mattress place came up. The script had been prepared but within a few minutes, the Glee club had convinced the owner to change it and soon they were singing and performing. They left the store upbeat and happy with how well it had gone.

However it wasn't long before it all came crashing down around them. Quinn of all people called a Glee club meeting about 2 days after shooting the commercial.

"Something's wrong," said Quinn immediately as soon as the last person had entered. "I was talking to Coach Sylvester and she said something about us being disqualified from Sectionals and mentioned the commercial."

"What?" exclaimed a bunch of people.

"I saw Mr. Schue in Figgens' office when I was coming here," said Matt.

"No," said Rachel firmly, though as everyone looked to her, they could see doubt in her eyes. "No, there's no way performing in a commercial can get us disqualified." But before long the rumors reached them. Quinn hurried off but the rest of them just stayed in the choir room, shocked. Rachel hadn't let go of Noah's hand once and he knew she was blaming herself. Eventually they all had to go to classes. At the end of the day they all met back in the choir room.

"If it means anything," said Quinn. "I got us a photo." Everyone looked to her.

"Blackmailed Miss Sylvester to get it," she said with a half smile.

"Nice," said Noah. They fell silent and waited for Mr. Schue. He walked in and saw them there. He sighed.

"I'm not going to Sectionals with you guys," he said. After a moment of shocked silence, Artie spoke up.

"But we don't wanna go to sectionals without you." Mr. Schue sighed.

"It's without me or not at all. Look, I was the one who slept on the mattress which means I accepted them, not you. Which means I'm disqualified from competition. Not you guys."

"He's taking the bullet for us," said Noah. "Solid." Mr. Schue sighed.

"We have worked too hard for you guys not to get your shot," he said.

"We can't do this without you Mr. Schue," said Finn. "Hell, we probably can't do it with you."

"That's not true," said Mr. Schue immediately. "You guys are good. You're really good. You did 'Jump' for that commercial without me, right?" Everyone smiled a little. Mr. Schue sighed again.

"Look… the best teachers don't give you the answers. They just point the way and let you make your own choices. Your own mistakes. That way you get all the glory. And you deserve it. But if… if you can't win without me there, then I haven't done my job."

"We're really sorry Mr. Schue," said Rachel.

"I know," he replied. "I want you guys to go get gussied up and take that Glee Club photo with pride. I wanna see a smile on every one of your faces. Nate you're welcome to join."

"I'm not part of the Glee club," said Nate with a smile.

"You might as well be," said Tina.

"Groupies of the football team aren't included in their picture," replied Nate chuckling. Mr. Schue smiled and left.

The photo went great and everyone was happy with the way it turned out and they began to focus on Sectionals.

* * *

Yeah the ending sucks but I couldn't think of anything better. Just imagine it ending the same way the episode did, Mr. Schue walking down the hall from the choir room where everyone was celebrating a great picture.

Also: Lea Michele's version of O Holy Night on the Glee Christmas album. Words do not describe how amazing it is. The first time tears have ever come to my eyes because of a piece of music (that wasn't a score to a scene in a movie etc). Just amazing


	36. Chapter 35

Finals at the end of last semester + Super crazy long Glee Hiatus = 2 months between updates. Yeah I know. I'm a giant fail. Now I don't do this often but I PROMISE! that the next chapter will be uploaded by Saturday at the latest. Promise. So catch up with my story and keep your eyes out. :D

* * *

As Sectionals moved closer and closer, the group started to worry. Mr. Schue hadn't found a teacher to take them to Sectionals for him yet. They were also still frustrated by the fact that Nate was getting slushied about every other day. But having Nate at all their rehearsals was a lot of fun and he wasn't letting the school's reaction get him down. Even Finn and Puck were starting to build the first tenuous step towards becoming friends again. They were all in the choir room one day discussing the big issue about Sectionals. The faculty advisor.

"I bet we get stuck with Mr. Sinacori as our sectionals advisor," said Artie.

"The creepy math teacher?" cringed Tina.

"He's always singing when he walks down the halls," put in Kurt. Rachel sighed.

"What's the point? It's not like the advisor will be doing anything towards our actual performance."

"Hey you guys," said Mercedes, distracted. "Did any of you think it was weird the way that Puck went to help Quinn when she fell yesterday?" Rachel quickly hid the panic she was feeling as the others looked to her.

"Well he has been a lot nicer since he and Rachel started dating," said Tina.

"Is he like the godfather or something?" asked Kurt. Rachel shook her head.

"He just likes her. They're friends. We all know that," she said with a smile. Everyone seemed to nod, though Rachel didn't like the curious looks on some of their faces.

"Are we going to practice?" she asked.

"Once Mr. Schue names a faculty advisor," sighed Kurt. Rachel nodded and left.

"That was weird," said Artie.

"Do you think we upset her or something?" asked Tina.

"She probably knows something about the baby she's not allowed to tell and it's killing her," said Kurt. They all nodded in realization.

Meanwhile, Rachel had found Noah.

"We need to talk to Quinn," she said.

"Why?"

"Because of what happened yesterday."

"Babe you said you thought it was sweet I went to help her. Though you didn't have to tell me all about how long a pregnancy lasts."

"You thought the baby was coming," chided Rachel. It wasn't long before they found Quinn and soon they were standing in an empty classroom.

"What's going on?" asked Quinn.

"She said it was something about yesterday," said Noah stuffing his hands in his pockets and leaning against a desk.

"Mercedes asked if anyone thought it was weird the way Noah went to your aid Quinn," said Rachel. "I, of course, told them it was because you and Noah are just friends but I don't think all of them are satisfied." Quinn shifted uncomfortably.

"Do they know?"

"No way," said Noah. "We'd know if they did."

"But still, I just wanted you to know. Our friends are going to start noticing little things. Things we might not see as significant." Quinn nodded before biting her lip.

"Maybe we should tell our friends… We can trust them. And this way they won't be whispering about it…"

"That's an excellent idea Quinn," said Rachel. Quinn smiled before looking over at Noah who had lowered his head and her smile faded.

"Puck?" He sighed.

"I guess I deserve it… I'm going to be the bad guy again but in this situation… I kinda am."

"Our friends aren't going to blame you," said Rachel.

"Puck if you don't want to-"

"No," said Noah. "We'll do it. We can't take any chance that Finn will find out from anyone."

"Today. Before Glee. Can you get Finn out of the room?" asked Rachel to Quinn.

"Yeah. I'll send him for some food or something," she said. Rachel smiled.

"Don't worry you two. Everything will work out."

Glee rehearsal came far too quickly for both Quinn and Noah who were both apprehensive about having to admit this to their friends. They looked at each other before standing up and heading to the front of the classroom. Rachel followed. The other Glee clubbers and Nate quieted down in confusion.

"There's something we want to tell you," said Rachel. "Well Noah and Quinn want to tell you." She had grabbed hands with both Quinn and Puck, who were trying to look everywhere but at their friends.

"What about Finn?" asked Artie.

"I sent him to go get me a slushy before Glee," said Quinn.

"Well shouldn't he know what you're telling us?" continued Artie.

"We're telling you this so you can help us keep him from knowing," said Quinn. A confused silence grew as Rachel swiveled her head between Quinn and Puck, squeezing their hands.

"Finn's not the father," said Puck finally. Everyone recoiled as if they had been slapped.

"Say it Noah," said Rachel softly. "Don't just let them assume."

"I am," he sighed after a while. He winced at a few of the angry eyes aimed towards him.

"Don't blame Puck," said Quinn desperately. "Please don't blame him. When he first found out he came to me wanting to support me and our baby. I was the one who told him to keep it a secret. That Finn was going to be the dad. Please don't blame him." The angry eyes softened. Rachel saw Mike, Matt, and Nate exchange a glance before nodding.

"We have your backs," said Matt.

"We trust Rachel," said Nate

"Since she's still with Puck, she must trust him so we do too," said Mike, a smile finding its way onto his face. Quite a few eyes widened at this. They obviously hadn't thought of that either. Santana sighed.

"Since Quinn is asking us not to blame him I guess we won't," she said. Brittany nodded, her eyes free of confusion. Rachel looked over at Quinn, who was on the verge of happy tears and couldn't stop smiling. Tina and Artie shrugged, smiling at them. Kurt and Mercedes exchanged a glance before nodding to the three at the front of the room. Rachel turned to Puck. His face was the normal blank one he wore, but she could see the relief in it and in his eyes.

"I told you," she whispered.

"Quinn what are you going to do?" asked Kurt. She looked down.

"I love Finn," she whispered. "That's why I lied about this. I wanted it to be his." Santana and Brittany stood up before walking down and pulling her into a hug. Kurt, Mercedes and Tina followed. Rachel smiled before turning to Puck.

"You were worried about nothing. You still have your friends." He moved quickly crushing her in a hug. After a moment he let her go. The group headed back to their seats. Finn walked in a little while afterwards taking a slushy over to Quinn who smiled and thanked him. Mr. Schue walked in just a few seconds after.

"Hey guys," he said. "Let's uh… let's gather round." He sighed. "Well I have found my replacement. So give it up for Miss Pillsbury." The Glee club began to clap.

"She's the one they made me talk to when they found out I was keeping that bird in my locker," said Brittany.

"So do you even know anything about music?" asked Santana.

"What's important is that she cares about you guys every bit as much as I do," said Mr. Schue. "Now… I don't know what the future holds for me… and for us. But I know Saturday, you're gonna make me proud. You guys are gonna be great. So… good-bye for now." He turned to leave.

"Wait. What about our set list?" said Mercedes.

"I-I can't help you with that," replied their teacher. "You've gotta figure that out for yourselves. All right guys." Then Mr. Schue turned and left the choir room.

"Well we have to do 'Proud Mary' in wheelchairs," said Artie after a moment. "That's in."

"And 'Don't Stop Believin' for sure," said Finn.

"What about the ballad?" said Tina.

"I would be thrilled to contribute a ballad from my repertoire," said Rachel standing up and heading to the front of the room.

"Okay you know what? Enough," said Mercedes standing up. "This has been building for a while so you'll have to excuse me. I've worked just as hard as you, and I'm just as good as you. You know, you always end up stealing the spotlight."

"Mercedes, do you honestly think you're as strong a balladeer as I am?" She turned to Miss Pillsbury. "Ballads are kinda my thing," she whispered.

"No reason to get snooty about it," warned Noah. Rachel winced. Mercedes meanwhile had turned around to look at Mike and Matt. She mouthed the word 'balladeer' looking for help. They both looked just as confused as she was but Matt motioned for her to turn back around.

"Okay, um, Rachel," said Miss Pillsbury. "Why don't you let Mercedes give it a try?"

"Of course," said Rachel immediately. "I'm sorry Mercedes." The other resident diva just smiled. Miss Pillsbury and Rachel went to go sit down.

"Do I even need to tell you what song?" Mercedes asked Brad, their piano player. He just shook his head, amused.

"Horns, strings, keep up," said Mercedes before turning back to face the group. She began to sing the opening notes to an immediately recognizable song. Smiles began to spread across the faces of the Glee club as she continued to sing. She hit her stride into the bridge and she absolutely nailed it heading into the last repeat of the chorus, sending Mike and Matt to their feet clapping. Mercedes sang like nothing they had ever heard before and everyone was on their feet as she finished the song. After clapping for a while Rachel headed up to the front of the room.

"Thoughts?" asked Mercedes with a smile.

"It's clear the room adores you," said Rachel with a smile to match. "I can't wait to see you sing that song at Sectionals." Mercedes' smile began to widen.

"You're amazing Mercedes. And you deserve it. I'm gonna hug you now."

"Okay," laughed Mercedes as she and Rachel hugged.

The rest of the rehearsal went really well and everyone went home excited and optimistic about their chances at sectionals.

The next day dawned sunny and cheerful. Nobody knew that by the end of the day… everything would be shot to hell.

* * *

I regret to inform you that this story will follow canon in that: Finn finds out about the baby. Finn leaves. HOW that happens is going to be interesting heehee. Keep your eyes out! I promise to have it up by Saturday at the latest.

PS: Puckleberry in the Super Bowl episode. Heck yes!


	37. Chapter 36

Well I did promise you guys this would be up by Saturday so here it is. The big huge conflict of Sectionals: Finn finds out about the baby. Hope you like it! :D

* * *

Quinn peered around the corner, waiting for Rachel to leave Puck's locker. A smile touched her lips as she kissed him briefly before heading off to her class. Quinn took a deep breath before walking over to Puck.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked quietly. He frowned as he closed his locker but nodded. They headed to an empty classroom.

"What's up?" he asked. "Something wrong with-"

"The baby's fine," said Quinn. But then she fell silent. He frowned again.

"Then what's up?"

"Last night… Finn was telling me how he thinks if we win Sectionals he thinks everything will be okay. I know it sounds like nothing but I just can't take it anymore. I know it doesn't make sense…" Puck sighed.

"It does to me. Hiding the truth starts to weigh on you and once you reach your limit you can't help but to tell, no matter the consequences." Quinn nodded before lowering her head.

"This is the selfish part…"

"You want me to tell him."

"I can't do it," said Quinn, shaking her head crying silently. "I tried to tell him last night… I'm just not brave enough… I know it's selfish…" Puck sighed again before putting a hand on Quinn's shoulder in comfort.

"I'll do it. It's been bothering me that Finn and I are starting to be cool again. I'll do it before Glee today."

"Thank you," breathed Quinn, completely grateful. "Thank you… I'll tell everyone to avoid the choir room early."

"Not Rachel," said Puck sternly. "She can't know about this. She'll try and stop me because she knows how Finn'll react." Quinn nodded.

"Thank you," she said again.

"We're both part of this," said Puck before leaving.

* * *

The end of the day began to creep up. Everyone except Rachel knew by now what was going to go down in the choir room. Any questions at the timing of this were silenced by the look on Quinn's face. She had told them all yesterday how much she loved Finn. She had been lying to the person she loved for months now and they all understood she just couldn't take it anymore. As Puck walked up to Finn, he wished he could have just said no to Quinn. He wished he could have just made her tell Finn. But he just hadn't been able to say it. He had betrayed Finn as much as she had.

"Hey man," said Puck to Finn. "Can I talk to you?" Finn nodded, confused but followed Puck to the choir room. Puck sighed.

"I need to tell you something…"

"Dude are you gonna break up with Rachel?"

"What? No! Why the hell would you? No. Just no dude." Finn looked sheepish.

"Sorry." Puck sighed and ran a hand over his Mohawk.

"Okay look. I know we've been a little better lately but there's something you need to know before we're back to being best buds."

"Just spit it out. What is it?" asked Finn.

"It's not your baby," said Puck. Finn froze, his eyes going wide and his jaw dropping slightly.

"It's mine," finished Puck. Silence rang in the choir room for a moment. Then Puck saw the anger spark to life and he braced himself for what was to come. Finn's fists flew and Puck didn't fight back. He was backed up against a wall and Finn just kept punching him. He felt his lip split open. Finn had got in a good shot at his nose but it didn't feel broken.

"Noah!" His eyes flew open. Why was she here? And there she was putting herself between him and Finn and he saw Finn slowly lower his fists.

"Get out of the way Rachel. It's… It's not my baby!"

"That is no reason to beat Noah to a pulp!" Puck saw a flash of realization in Finn's eyes before the anger came back.

"You knew?" he thundered, clenching his fists. In a split second Puck had moved, putting himself in front of Rachel and slamming his fist into Finn's face.

"Don't you ever yell at her like that!" he roared. "I'll take the shit you're going to deal out cause I fucked up. I told Rachel and she accepts it but don't you dare take it out on her!" He could feel Rachel tugging at the back of his shirt, most likely trying to get him to calm down, but there was no fucking way that was happening any time soon. Finn had yelled loud enough to make Rachel take a step back. He had scared her. Was he overreacting? Maybe. Probably. But yelling at his girl like that, when she was only protecting him, was enough to majorly piss. Him. Off.

"You know I wasn't the only one participating that night!" he continued. "We may have been drunk but Quinn wanted it you know!" Finn's fist flew out of nowhere. Faster and harder than any of the others. Puck took a step back and his feet tangled with Rachel's. He felt himself falling and his head hit the floor. His vision went fuzzy and he was having trouble telling his body what to do. He saw Rachel over him, the worry huge in her eyes. He cursed as he saw the tears getting closer to falling. He couldn't stand when she cried. Then he saw her look away. He was aware Finn was yelling something and she had placed her small body between him and Finn. His eyes darted to Finn's fists. They were still clenched and he was getting closer to Rachel. The fear came out of nowhere, decking him like Finn's punch had.

_He wouldn't. He can't._

But his damn body wouldn't listen to him. He saw Finn take a hold of Rachel's shoulders. Saw him shake her a little. Saw her trying to pull away but he wouldn't let go. And the anger overtook the fear and his body began to move. Everything was still slightly fuzzy but it didn't matter. He had hurt her. Nobody hurt her anymore. Nobody. But the fear came roaring back… He… He couldn't get up. He couldn't help her. Then a blur flashed by his vision and barreled into Finn. Rachel backed away and he could see her shaking.

"Rachel!" he called, trying to push himself up into a sitting position then cursing as he couldn't. She turned and knelt by him. He could tell she was trying to hide many things. Her fear, her pain, her worry for him. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms but his damn body still wasn't completely listening. He was able to raise a hand and press it to her cheek. She smiled placing hers over it. He looked over to Finn. The blur had been Mike and he was on top of Finn, yelling something, punctuating some words with a punch. Finn pushed him off and got up, looking like he was ready to charge at Puck again, when something caught his eye. Puck looked to see Quinn standing in the doorway… and by the look in her eyes she knew all of what Finn had done… Quinn looked at Finn, the shock huge in her eyes, tears there too.

"I'm done with you…" he said angrily. "I'm done with all of you!" He brushed by Quinn and out of the room. Puck could hear Mike still ranting angrily in the corner. A large bang signaled he had just punched something. A wall maybe? Quinn slowly walked over and kneeled next to Rachel, also looking at Puck.

"Rachel… I…" she began. Puck felt his heart swell in pride as he watched his girlfriend hug the blonde.

"It's ok Quinn. I realize that you must have asked Noah to tell Finn about the baby but in the end Finn did this," said Rachel.

"I should beat the shit out of him," said Puck, finally sitting up.

"You will do no such thing!" cried Rachel. "You can barely move and you hit your head! What if you have a concussion?" Puck shook his head, his body now responding normally.

"I'm feeling better now."

"You were out of it for minutes Noah! Please! Don't push yourself!" He felt himself crumble seeing how upset she was to see him like this.

"Ok ok," he said taking her hand and smiling slightly. She smiled back.

"I'll be right back Noah. Ok?" she asked. He nodded though he was confused. Then everything was cleared up as she walked over to Mike and gave him a hug. It was just like her. He saw Mike go from raging to calm in a matter of seconds and he hugged her back. He was surprised to find that he wasn't jealous. But then again Mike had proven time and time again to be a true friend to both him and Rachel. He let out a huge sigh realizing how much he owed Mike. For stepping in. Rachel pulled away smiling at him.

"Thanks Mike," she said before looking over at Puck. She was pleased to see no sign of jealousy in his eyes. Mike looked over too.

"Is he ok?" he asked. Puck felt Quinn's eyes on him.

"You didn't fight back," she said. He shook his head.

"Well I punched him once. He got angry at Rachel and…" Quinn's eyes watered.

"How could he?" she asked, her voice wavering. There was silence in the room at her words. Everyone was shocked at how Finn had reacted. Rachel kneeled down by Puck again, and Mike gently took Quinn's hand to pull her up into a much needed embrace. They heard footsteps racing down the hallway and Kurt and Tina burst into the room.

"Oh god," said Tina, looking at Puck.

"What did he do?" demanded Kurt, his eyes fixated Rachel. She looked away.

"He was shaking her," said Mike angrily.

"He what?" Kurt said in shock. Rachel nodded. Matt and Artie were the next to push open the choir room door.

"We just saw Finn. Are we going after him?" demanded Artie.

"No," said Puck and Mike, their voices hard. Tina looked over at Artie and he quickly rolled over to her, worried by the shock in her eyes.

"He hurt Rachel," she said to him before sinking onto his lap. Both Artie's and Matt's eyes widened and moved directly to Rachel.

"He just shook me," said Rachel. "He didn't hurt me."

"But you were afraid he was going to," accused Noah. She paused before nodding ever so slightly. It wasn't long after that until Mercedes along with Santana and Brittany ran in. Matt was still staring at Rachel, while Artie had shifted his focus to calming Tina down. Mercedes took one look around the room. She saw Matt and followed his gaze to Rachel. Her eyes widened as she saw Rachel's hands shaking and all the anger she had before turned into shock and disbelief.

"Finn…" was all she could get out.

"Yes," said Matt finally tearing his eyes away from Rachel. He was immediately worried by how fragile Mercedes looked, the shock and disbelief not sitting well on her face. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, giving her the support she needed. Brittany had broken down into tears the minute she had seen Puck and Santana took her over to the chairs to try and calm her down. Kurt had gone over to Rachel but jumped as he felt his phone buzz. He pulled it out to see a text from Nate. Kurt began thinking quickly. He could just tell Nate exactly what happened over the text, but if he knew Nate well enough, hearing that Finn had hurt Rachel would send him after Finn looking for blood. He decided to just reply with _Get to the choir room now._ Kurt's mind continued to race as he thought about how Nate would react. He moved towards the door. Nate burst in soon afterwards. Kurt quietly closed the choir room door behind him and leaned against it.

"Shit man," said Nate looking at Puck. Then he felt the tension in the room and his face started to fall as his eyes swept all the shell shocked Glee members. He almost swept past Rachel but looked back to her because she hadn't met his eyes. He began to tremble as he jumped to a conclusion why everyone wasn't speaking.

"He hurt you?" asked Nate and when Rachel didn't answer he whirled around. Everyone's eyes widened. They had forgotten how protective he was of Rachel. Nate jumped slightly seeing Kurt at the door.

"Move Kurt." Kurt crossed his arms.

"No. We don't need you running after Finn."

"Besides he's mine," growled Puck.

"Get out of the way Kurt," repeated Nate, ignoring Puck.

"I'm not going to. The only way you're going to get out is to move me and I know you well enough to know you wouldn't do that."

"Dammit Kurt! Get out of the way!" yelled Nate advancing on the soprano. Mike and Matt's heads snapped up and they went to move. Kurt just stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Nate who immediately deflated, hugging Kurt back. Matt and Mike relaxed turning back to the girls they were trying to comfort.

"Dammit Kurt. You really do know me too well," he said softly. Kurt just smiled and let him go.

"You okay?" Nate nodded. Silence fell for a while.

"You weren't supposed to be there," a voice finally came and everyone turned to see Noah talking to Rachel. "You weren't supposed to be that early." His voice was wavering.

"Noah, you can't blame yourself," started Rachel and Noah jumped to his feet, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"Not my fault?" he repeated softly. Everyone tensed at his tone, the boys more so. "All I could fucking do was lay there on the goddamn floor and watch you put yourself between him and me when I deserved every fucking damn thing he dealed out to me. Could just lay there and not even think because I was so fucking afraid and I can't even get up. I have to watch," he hissed advancing on her and the boys began to move ever so closer to him. "Have to fucking watch as he lays his hands on my girl. If Mike hadn't shown up how much further would he had gone and I couldn't get off my goddamn ass. So just keep standing there and saying it's not my fault."

"That's enough!" The commanding voice had Noah whipping his head around to focus, surprisingly on Quinn, who had stepped closer to him.

"Don't you dare say one more word," she threatened. "I am pregnant, I am upset, and I am pissed." Noah's mouth clamped shut.

"You think you can fool us, fool Rachel. Yes you're angry. Angry at yourself, angry at Finn, probably even a little angry at Rachel for intervening. But to go on that kind of rant I know what you're really feeling and even so that is no reason to take it all out on Rachel. She was scared for you. I bet she would tell you that she would do it again to, just to stop Finn from hurting you, even if you think you deserve it." She paused to take a breath and Noah opened his mouth.

"Shut it," she snapped. "I'm not done." She shifted her weight, a subtle move but made Noah move his gaze slightly and on the edge of his vision, he saw his girlfriend with shock and hurt on her face. He winced, knowing most of that was caused by him.

"Exactly," whipped out Quinn, in her iciest voice. "You may have admitted you were afraid, but you're not angry because of that. You're angry because you want to hide what you really feel and if you haven't grown up enough to trust us to see that you aren't just a jock then I don't know what more we can do." She paused once again and Noah didn't try to talk.

"You're terrified," said Quinn her voice softening. She saw the plea flash in his eyes but ignored it. "You're still terrified. You had to watch Rachel get hurt while protecting you. I know you Puck. You may not even know it yourself but you made a promise when you saved Rachel from the hockey team that day. That no one else would ever hurt her again, that you would always protect her. You probably even made some smaller promise like that to her." Her voice softened even more. "You're terrified because you had to watch as that promise got torn to shreds. Had to watch as you couldn't protect her. I bet you're terrified she still may be hurt because you don't think you're good enough."

Noah broke. Massive sobs wracked his body. He wanted to hold Rachel so bad, but was scared that she didn't want to be near him after he had gone off on her, but then she was there in his arms and he was sobbing into her hair. He fell to his knees and Rachel went with him.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed. "I'm sorry I let you get hurt. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm sorry."

"Shhh," murmured Rachel, tears falling from her eyes as well. "It's ok. It's ok. Oh it's ok Noah." Quinn moved closer and wrapped her arms around Noah as well, hugging him from the back.

"It's ok Noah," the blonde said, using his given name for the first and probably last time. The rest of the Glee club slowly approached, all crying unashamedly. Nate, Matt, and Mike came together, placing supporting hands on Noah's and Rachel's shoulders. Then surprisingly, Santana, sitting down next to Rachel and putting a comforting hand on her lower leg, since her shoulder was occupied. Slowly the whole Glee club joined together, in silent support of both Rachel and Noah and what had just happened. After a long while the Glee club slowly separated, leaving Rachel and Noah.

"Don't leave," whispered Noah to her.

"Never," she whispered back fiercely.

"Go home," said Kurt. "We'll stay and tell Miss Pillsbury what happened." Everyone nodded. Rachel smiled at them and stood up. Noah followed, his hand tight around hers.

"Thank you," she said to everyone. They all smiled.

* * *

The walk to Noah's truck and the subsequent ride to Rachel's house was silent but Noah never let go of Rachel's hand. The silence lasted until she sat him down on her couch.

"You did protect me," she said. He scoffed.

"You did," she insisted, putting a gentle hand on his cheek. "Everyone else knew why you were beat up when they got to the room. Which means you and Quinn told everyone but me in an effort to protect me because you knew I would try and stop you or interfere somehow."

"That doesn't change the fact that-"

"You protected me," she repeated. "The only time you fought back was when Finn yelled at me."

"He shook you!" yelled Noah tearing away and standing up. "I broke my promise and you got hurt and I didn't protect you!"

"Wrong!" yelled Rachel back as she rose to follow him. "You never broke your promise! Even when you had hit your head the only thought in your mind was to get back up to protect me! I know that! You would have pushed yourself back up even with a possible concussion and taken whatever else Finn was going to do because you didn't care what happened to you, you wanted to protect me so much! How is that breaking your promise?"

"But you still got hurt…" said Noah shaking his head. She just smiled at him and approached him.

"People aren't perfect Noah. Finn shook me, yes, but the fact that you did everything in your power to protect me fulfills your promise and is more than I could ever ask for. But what you need to focus on is that _Finn_ shook me. It wasn't your fault and I'll never think that it was." A smile finally tugged at his lips.

"I don't deserve you, you know." She moved forward and kissed his cheek since his lip had been split in the fight.

"And I don't deserve you. Guess we're a perfect fit." He smiled before wincing as his lip began bleeding again.

"Sit down," she said before running to get her first aid kit.

"I can't believe you aren't mad at me or Quinn," he said as she began treating his face.

"As I said before, I find the fact you didn't tell me what you were going to do as a way of protecting me. As for Quinn… I realize from what she's said before that keeping this from Finn is very stressful on her. I understand why she asked you and I'm not angry at her but I can't help but wish she would have told Finn herself. You wouldn't be hurt that way."

"Finn would have come after me even if she had told him," said Noah. "Besides it was as much my fault as it was hers." Rachel nodded.

"I understand." She paused. "Quinn will need a place to live won't she?" Noah cursed in realization.

"I'm sure the others will have that all under control tonight," assured Rachel.

"Yeah I'll talk to her tomorrow about moving in to my place," he replied.

"Not necessary," said Rachel. "Your mom has enough stress as it is. Quinn will live here with me. We have the room."

"You would do that? Won't it be awkward?"

"Because it's your baby? Yes I suppose it could," said Rachel thoughtfully. "But I know that Quinn loves Finn. And I've accepted what happened between you two. After all, it's in the past. Quinn and I are… Well I guess we are friends," said Rachel with a smile.

"You are an amazing person," said Noah, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Thank you."

"Anyone would do it," she replied. He just shook his head.

"No they wouldn't." Rachel just smiled as she finished up treating his face.

"Now, as I said before, you might have received a concussion when your head hit the floor."

"My head feels fine," he replied.

"Well," said Rachel looking at him disbelievingly, "To be sure, I'll be waking you up every hour tonight." He gaped at her.

"It's standard to make sure nothing serious develops," she replied. He sighed.

"Fine. Whatever." She just smiled before offering him the tv remote and before long they were in a familiar spot on the couch as they watched the tv.

* * *

So I think the next chapter should wrap up Sectionals and then we're heading on to the second half of season 1. I have decided to keep most of the couples intact as opposed to the show. This will take away storylines such as Brittany/Artie or Lauren/Puck but I decided I want to write my own story that loosely follows the canon storyline. I still have yet to decide on Matt. I'm still going back and forth about whether he should move or not. As for the Jesse storyline in the upcoming episodes, he's still going to play a huge part and something's going to happen that I think all of you are going to hate but trust me when I say as in the show: Everything works out in the end. Hope you liked this chapter and I will try to keep another two months from going by before the next update :P


	38. Chapter 37

Good News: Yay a new chapter! Bad News: Next one won't be coming until my Spring Break which starts March 12. I have waaaaaay too much work to get done and I really can't see myself with time to work on this until then. Maybe I will but as of right now you guys are gonna have to wait sorry. Oh and I have decided on a couple name for Kurt/Nate if they ever do get together (I refuse to tell you yes/no on them XD) so their couple name will be Kute. XD Yes. I went there. Anyway thanks for all the hits, reviews, favs, and story alerts It's just amazing how many of you guys like my story! Enjoy!

* * *

The night was uneventful for the most part. Every hour, Rachel woke up to her own alarm she had set before waking up Noah and asking him what his name was to make sure he was still thinking clearly. His answers got more and more annoyed finally culminating with his 6am answer of 'I'm George W. Freaking Bush. Jesus Rach I'm fine! Go back to sleep and stop waking me up!' Of course this just relieved her that he was, in fact, fine.

As they walked up to school, Rachel looked to him.

"Noah I want you to promise me something." He cursed silently knowing exactly what she was going to ask him to do.

"You want me to promise not to go after Finn," he said. She nodded.

"Will you do that for me please?" she asked, taking his hand. He sighed and nodded.

"I promise. But only if he stays away from you." Rachel nodded.

"I don't think he wants any part of us anymore." The minute they entered the door, Kurt approached them.

"Everything okay honey?" he asked.

"We're fine Kurt," assured Rachel. "But thank you for worrying." Kurt sighed.

"Good. Quinn was as good as could be expected last night so I was worried things weren't going good on your end."

"She only woke me up every hour," muttered Noah. Kurt laughed.

"Why is that?"

"I wanted to make sure he didn't have a concussion. And he doesn't," replied Rachel. Kurt just smiled.

"Oh and don't worry about Sectionals. Nate's already told us he'll be our 12th member." Rachel gasped.

"I had completely forgot about that! We'll have to rearrange our songs and figure out who will be the male soloist and-"

"Honey calm down," said Kurt. "We've got this figured out. I figured Puck could be the soloist on 'Don't Stop Believing' and then for 'Proud Mary' we're already set with Mercedes and Artie. All we have to do is teach Nate the choreography." Rachel smiled and hugged Kurt.

"Thank you." Kurt just smiled and hugged back.

"No worries. I figured you two would have your hands full and when Nate told me he would go in Finn's place I started thinking about everything else."

"You want me to sing the solo?" asked Noah surprised.

"Well of course Noah," replied Rachel. "We did it before that one time when we performed for Nate. And who else would be the male soloist?" Noah just shrugged.

"Well I'll see you two at Glee later," said Kurt before leaving.

"I should talk to Quinn," said Rachel. "I'll see you later and don't worry about the solo. You'll be fine okay?" Noah nodded and she turned and walked off. He sighed and headed off to class.

* * *

Meanwhile Rachel found Quinn at her locker.

"How are you doing?" Rachel asked her.

"I should be asking you that," replied Quinn.

"I'm fine," replied Rachel. "Noah does not have a concussion and Kurt has informed me about the plans we have for Sectionals. But how are you? Where did you go last night?"

"Brittany's," replied Quinn. "And I'm okay. I had hoped that Finn would have… but I should have known better. And I think I always really knew he would…" Rachel hugged her.

"Well I have something to tell you that should help calm you down a little." Quinn just looked confused.

"You're going to live with me at my house. Noah had wanted to have you move in with him but his mom is stressed enough as it is and my dads already know about you and are supportive so… What do you think?" Quinn began to cry.

"I don't understand how you can me so nice to me after everything I've said and done to you. And that your boyfriend…" Rachel just smiled and hugged Quinn again.

"I'm your friend Quinn. It's what friends do."

"Thank you Rachel," whispered Quinn.

* * *

As Rachel was walking through the hallways later that day, someone reached out and grabbed her, pulling her into an empty classroom.

"Noah, what?..." she said before realizing it wasn't her boyfriend that had pulled her in the room. It was Finn. Her eyes went cold and she turned to leave but he moved quickly to stand in front of her.

"Look Rachel I'm sorry for yesterday," he said. "I was so angry I was just trying to make you see what he really is. I didn't mean to shake you and I know I scared you and I'm sorry."

"Let me out Finn," she said.

"Why didn't you tell me? I thought you liked me."

"It wasn't my secret to tell," she replied crossing her arms. "If you don't let me out of here I'm texting Noah."

"Why are you defending him? When you know it's his baby?" he demanded his voice getting angry.

"Because he told me the truth and because I care a lot about him." She didn't say love on purpose. She did love Noah but she refused to say it to anyone else before she told him. He scoffed.

"But you don't love him and you never will." Her jaw dropped, shock preventing her from saying anything.

"And if you think you're in love, you're just in love with him saving you but that's not Puck. He just proved it by sleeping with Quinn. My girlfriend. You can't tell me when he told you that you weren't hurt. I warned you. And he'll hurt you again if you don't leave him." Rachel took a deep shuddering breath to calm herself, ready to snap some choice words at Finn but he spoke before she could.

"I know you still like me," he said. "You were in love with me and that's still there. We can have that now." The words that a few months ago would have made her jump with joy only turned her stomach now.

"You _just_ broke up with Quinn. And I never loved you. I had a crush that I convinced myself was love." Finn shook his head.

"You're just saying that because you're with Puck." Rachel finally had enough and went to leave the classroom. He reached for her and she flinched, backing away. When she finally looked up she saw him looking in disbelief at her before looking to his hand and dropping it.

"Rachel… I… You know I never meant to hurt you. I would never… You're scared of me?" he asked still in disbelief.

"Yes," she whispered. He flinched, taking a step back. A disbelieving but pleading look was on his face but it quickly turned one of self-revulsion. He took another step back.

"I'm sorry," he said as he fled from the room. Rachel took a few steps after him but stopped in the doorway of the room and just watched him move down the hallway. At the end, he ran into Puck and Rachel's eyes widened, thinking that they were going to fight, but Finn just turned and went down another hall. Noah frowned before looking where he had come from and saw Rachel. She saw the panic flit across his face as he ran towards her.

"Babe what happened?" he asked as he reached her. "Did he do anything? I'll kill him. I swear I'll-"

"Noah," interrupted Rachel. "He didn't do anything. He apologized."

"Oh well that makes it all right," he said sarcastically before frowning looking at her a little more closely.

"No," he said finally. "He did something. Tell me the truth."

"When I went to leave he reached for me and it scared me," admitted Rachel. "BUT!" she said grabbing hold of his arm as he turned to go after Finn.

"He asked me if he had scared me and when I said yes… you should have seen his face. He hates himself. He apologized again and left."

"Are you feeling bad for him?" asked Noah in disbelief.

"He made a mistake Noah. Just like you did. He hates himself for it and apologized. Just like you did. Isn't that enough of a punishment?" A ghost of a smile ran across Noah's face.

"It is for you. So that means it is for me too."

"You're still angry at him…"

"Well yeah!" replied Noah. "But I know if I do anything else to him, I'll be upsetting you. And there's no point in that." Rachel smiled and hugged Noah.

"Thank you." He hugged back, though his face fell into a more serious one. It wasn't as easy as it had appeared to Rachel for him to not run after Finn and punch his face in. Twice he had scared Rachel. He didn't care if Finn knew what he had done was wrong, Rachel had still been scared. And what really pissed him off was that the only reason she would be scared like that was because she still hadn't completely gotten over what the hockey team had done. And who could blame her? But it still pissed him off to absolutely no end that it still had that kind of effect on her. And to be honest, he still hated himself for it. Rachel didn't blame him, no one did, and he knew that and he didn't know what he would do if that wasn't the case but there had been so many different ways he could have prevented that from happening. And he knew he would never forgive himself for that. But as for Finn… He didn't know if he'd ever be able to forgive him for scaring Rachel. For shaking her like that. Though he supposed that if Finn could ever forgive him for sleeping with Quinn, he could forgive him for hurting Rachel. But neither of those things were going to happen any time soon.

* * *

Before everyone knew it, it was time to go to Sectionals. It was a somber feeling as Artie was lifted into the bus by the wheelchair lift as they all looked out the windows at Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsbury.

"So the competition starts at 11," said Mr. Schue to Miss Pillsbury.

"Right," she replied.

"I'll have my cell phone on."

"I know," nodded Miss Pillsbury. "You already told me… Three times. And you wrote it down." Mr. Schue turned to look at Nate who was already in the bus.

"I can't thank you enough Nate."

"I'm practically already part of the Glee club," he replied. "Why wouldn't I?" Mr. Schue smiled before looking back to Emma and using a hand to rub his temples in a gesture of stress.

"So, um… Still no word from Finn?" the guidance counselor asked.

"No," replied Mr. Schue before pausing. "I can't thank you enough."

"Okay," she said before getting on the bus. Mr. Schue closed the door to the wheelchair lift and patted the bus before it pulled away. He turned and walked away, unable to watch them leave without him.

* * *

Short chapter but I really want to separate Sectionals into it's own section/chapter. Hope you guys liked it!


	39. Chapter 38

Ok so this is another shortish chapter and mainly canon but I figured you guys would rather get this now than wait for the next time I have time to work on this. Yes I know I said I would have time to work on this over Spring Break but I used that time to recharge because I really needed it. I'm a junior music theory major. I have a lot of work. But I never forget about this story. I know the breaks in between updates are annoying, but it just pisses me off when people demand updates. I have a life, I'm in college but I'm not going to abandon the story. Thank you to those of you who have always been supportive. Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Once they got to Sectionals, they all gathered while Miss Pillsbury went to sign them in. It wasn't long before she returned.

"Ok," she said. "So smooth sailing so far. We're all signed in. And, um, according to the program you have drawn performance slot number three."

"We're going last?" said Tina. "Isn't that bad?"

"Hardly," said Rachel after a moment of looking around at the group and seeing the same worry on other faces. "This is good news," she continued as she made her way up to stand next to Miss Pillsbury.

"My extensive auditioning for community theater has taught me that we either want to go first or last. If we're first then everyone has to measure up to us. And if we're last then we're the freshest in the judges' minds."

"And did you ever get any of those parts?" interrupted Kurt. Rachel's face fell.

"Sorry," said Kurt with a grimace. "Nerves."

"I'm with Rachel on this," said Miss Pillsbury before the group could head too far down the road to depression. "The glass is definitely half full with some very good things right now."

"Yeah Miss Pillsbury's right. I mean we're here now, right?" said Mercedes. Matt, who was bouncing up and down with nerves looked over to her. "No reason not to go in with some positive mojo."

"Right. Right," said Miss Pillsbury. A small smile spread across Matt's face as his bouncing slowly stopped. The positive mojo seemed to have gotten into everyone as they echoed her sentiment.

It wasn't long before the mojo began slipping away. The Jane Addams girls went first and one of their songs was Mercedes' ballad. The group just stared, though no one was more upset than Mercedes who hadn't moved since the song had begun.

"It's a really popular song," said Rachel in an attempt to try and cheer up Mercedes, but it just came across as slightly insensitive and Rachel couldn't think of anything else to say. The most frustrating thing was that Mercedes would have blown that soloist out of the water and everyone knew it. But when the next song started… Everything went out the window. Proud Mary. In wheelchairs. Everyone was glaring at the Jane Addams girls, some in anger, some in disgust, but Artie was just so angry… But as the song ended, the anger disappeared into just pure hopelessness and once outside he began ramming his wheelchair into a wall over and over again as Miss Pillsbury quickly called Mr. Schue. Tina looked over at Artie, but she had been comforting Mercedes and she couldn't just leave her other friend. Matt walked up and Tina gratefully took the opportunity and fled over to Artie while Matt sat beside Mercedes. Tina grabbed Artie's wheelchair and stopped him from hitting the wall again but he just strained against her. She moved around so the only way he could hit the wall was to hit her and he finally stopped.

"Artie…" she said.

"That wasn't just a song…" he whispered. "That wasn't just a song they stole…"

"Oh Artie, I know," she said as she sat in his lap and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He shuddered as he squeezed his eyes shut and a single tear fell.

Noah walked over to Rachel who had her head against a column and was just leaning there.

"Babe come on," he said. "This isn't hopeless."

"Noah, if Jane Addams knew our set list, Haverbrook knows our set list. The worst thing of all is 'And I'm Telling You' wasn't even on our set list and Jane Addams still managed to pick the song."

"What are the rest of us going to do if we see you giving up hope already?" he asked. "They look to you. You're our leader. Self-appointed or not," he said with a smirk. Rachel sighed and straightened.

"You're right Noah. Thank you." He just smiled and they walked over to the rest of the group.

* * *

Back at McKinley, Finn sighed as he continued cleaning out his football locker. He was surprised at a voice and looked up to see Mr. Schue.

"Just called your mom. She told me you'd be here," said his teacher.

"Yeah, you know…" said Finn. "Football season ended, so I'm just cleaning out my things."

"Sounds like something that could have waited till Monday."

"You heard anything?" asked Finn, knowing Mr. Schue had seen through him.

"Yeah," replied Mr. Schue. "It's pretty bad." Finn looked away after a moment.

"I can't be there," said Mr. Schue.

"And I can?" replied Finn. "I can't even be in the same room as her without crying like a girl. I can't even look at him without wanting to punch his face off."

"Look I don't have any more pep talks Finn. You know I know how you feel." Finn paused in angrily cleaning out his locker to look at Mr. Schue.

"Look all I know is, that between you and me, I don't think they can win without you."

"But that's not fair. Why does it always have to come down to me?" protested Finn. "Why do I always have to be the bigger man?"

"Because sometimes being special… sucks," sighed Mr. Schue as he sat down on a nearby bench

"I just want everything to be like it, like it never happened you know?" said Finn after a moment.

"Well Finn…" said Mr. Schue as he set his keys down on the bench. "You can't always get what you want." After a moment Finn nodded.

"Listen," said Mr. Schue standing up. "I'll be in the choir room."

"Oh Mr. Schue, you forgot your keys," said Finn, going to pick them up.

"No I didn't," replied Mr. Schue without looking back. Finn looked down at the keys. He hadn't told Mr. Schue everything. Another reason he couldn't go back was Rachel… He still hadn't gotten over what he had done, unintentionally, to her. How could he go back now?

* * *

Back at Sectionals, things were just getting worse. They had all expected it, but it still hurt to see the friends they had made standing up there and singing 'Don't Stop Believing.' But the final straw for Rachel was seeing a man in front of her dab at his eyes. She stood up, angry.

"Meet me in the green room in five minutes," she said, throwing etiquette out the door and frankly shocking some of the group.

In the green room, the group turned on Brittany and Santana.

"What happened to actually wanting to be here?" demanded Kurt. "How could Sue get the list if you didn't give it to her? We know you were here originally to be Sue's moles? Did that never really change?"

"Look we may still be Cheerios but neither of us never gave Sue the set list," protested Santana.

"When Sue was the co-director…" said Nate. "She must have gotten it then…" The group sighed, but Santana could still feel animosity directed towards her and Brittany.

"Okay look," she said. "Believe what you want, but no one's forcing me to be here. And if you ever tell anyone this, I'll deny it… but I like being in Glee club." She paused for a second but continued before anyone could say anything. "It's the best part of my day okay? I wasn't gonna go and mess it up." She then turned and sat down in a chair close to Rachel. After a long silence Rachel spoke.

"I believe you." The briefest of smiles grew on Santana's face before Rachel turned to the rest of the group. "Okay look guys. There's no point in us arguing anymore. We have to go on in an hour."

"And we have no songs," said Tina.

"Perhaps I could improvise some of my def poetry jams," put in Artie. Tina just shook her head.

"No," said Rachel. "Look, we're gonna do this the right way. Let's start with a ballad. Mercedes, do you have anything else in your repertoire?"

"Yeah, but it's not as good as anything you're going to sing," replied Mercedes.

"No, we agreed-" protested Rachel.

"We agreed that I would sing 'And I'm Telling You' and that ain't happening," said Mercedes standing up. "Look Rachel the truth is you're the best singer that we've got."

"She's right," said Kurt. "Rachel's our star. If anyone's gonna go belt it on the fly, it should be her."

"What about 'True Colors'?" asked Rachel after a flabbergasted moment where she just opened and closed her mouth silently.

"It's a nice ballad but us just sitting on stools isn't going to be enough," said Tina. "We need you Rachel."

There was a pause.

"Well I do have something I've been working on since I was four," admitted Rachel. Mercedes laughed.

"Then I guess we have our ballad, and we can close with 'Somebody to Love,'" put in Quinn. "It's a real crowd pleaser."

"Yeah, that and a can of soup will guarantee us third place," said Puck, trying to get everyone riled up and really start thinking. "Think guys we can do this! We still need another song we can all sing together." Almost as if it was a movie, Finn slowly walked into the room.

"I have one," he said holding up sheet music. He sighed. "I found the sheet music online. I used the Cheerios' copier to make copies… then I trashed the thing." The music was quickly passed around. Rachel smiled and looked up at Finn.

"Mike, Matt, Brittany, Santana," said Finn. "You're our best dancers. Figure something out and we'll all follow your lead."

"It's gonna be choppy," said Mike hesitantly.

"Good," said Finn instantly. "We're best when we're loose." Mike and Brittany exchanged looks with a smile before getting up and heading over to brainstorm with Matt and Santana.

"Look all we have going for us is that we believe in ourselves and what we're singing about," said Finn. "If we can show the judges that, we might have a shot at this thing." Smiles were finally starting to show on everyone's face.

"It's good to have you back Finn," said Rachel. Noah frowned.

"Cool if I take my spot back?" asked Finn as Nate approached him.

"No problem dude," replied Nate. "Glad you came back." Noah swallowed the bile that rose in his throat for what he was about to do, sighed and approached Finn, offering his hand.

"Cool, dude?" he asked. Rachel's eyes widened. Noah was really doing this? After how angry he had been when Finn had scared her? But then Finn did something that let her down. He turned to Noah.

"No," he said shaking his head before turning away. He saw Quinn, almost in tears.

"Finn, I…" she started but he just ignored her, heading over to Rachel. Nate grabbed Noah's arm to prevent him from going over there.

"Dude I know," he whispered in Noah's ear. "But you were the bigger man just then and Rachel knows it. Everyone does. You had no right to forgive him for what he did yet you still offered to. He was the one who turned you down and going after him right now isn't what this group needs. So just deal with it for now. I know it sucks and frankly I'm pissed at him too." Noah shook off Nate's hand and just glared at the back of Finn, knowing if he said one thing wrong…

"You okay?" asked Rachel after a moment.

"Don't worry about me," he replied. _I don't deserve it,_ said his mind. "Okay? This is all up to you now. You wanted the solo. You wanted the chance to be the star. This is your chance. Don't screw it up," he chuckled. He headed over to where the rest of the group was, planning for their new number. Rachel took a deep breath before following and time began to fly as they put their last hope together.

* * *

So I have finally decided what I'm going to do with Kurt relationship wise heehee. Also for those of you who are starting to wonder, Jesse St. James will be involved in the next part of this story. I'm just not going to tell you how hahahahaha :D Hope you guys liked the chapter (especially the stuff I added to the original canon stuff)


	40. Chapter 39

Yes, I know I'm a horrible updater, person, and author but here's the conclusion to the first half of season 1. Explanation to follow at the end.

* * *

The normal rumble of unintelligible chatter filled the auditorium as the audience waited for the emcee to allow McKinley High's Glee Club to take the stage. Finally he introduced them. Both Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsberry took deep breaths on opposite ends of a phone connection. Somehow no one in the audience or ushers had noticed her holding a phone so all that was left was to worry about their glee club's performance. Rachel stood at the back of the auditorium, more nervous than she would ever admit, replaying Noah's encouragement in her mind.

_'Dude babe I've heard you knock this out a million times. Just pretend you're making me listen to the set list of your future Vegas show. Again.'_

A tinge of a smile spread across her face as the orchestra started playing. And the minute she began to sing and the audience turned around to find her, she felt the rush and she was gone, lost in the performance. Not 20 seconds in she was already playing off Nate and Miss Pillsberry in the audience. New Directions stood ready to come out of the back smiling. That was Rachel. Always the rock in their sound. And no one was surprised when she brought people to their feet in the middle of the song. Before they knew it, they were on stage about to start what would win or lose their competition.

You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, well you just might find, you get what you need.

As cheesy as it might sound, every person thought about how appropriate the lyrics were during the song. They did get what they need. They just blew this song out of the park. It was a cake walk from there ending with 'Somebody to Love'. Feeding on the applause, they thought they had done it, laughing and hugging each other in the wings. But as the buzz faded, apprehension crept in. Haverbrook probably had the sentimental favorite. Jane Adams had hairography to fool the judges. It was probably going to be a close call. So it wasn't long before they had all crept to the judges door to eavesdrop.

"This is highly unprofessional," Rachel had protested.

"Then you can find out at the announcement," replied Artie, taking the glass Miss Pillsberry for some reason had brought along. Rachel bit her lip, tapped her foot, then followed them all.

"Wait up!"

It wasn't long after Artie had started to listen that he moved away from the door.

"It doesn't sound good guys," he said to the already pacing group behind him. As he moved away, the most unlikeliest of people came around the corner. Mrs. Hitchens of Jane Adams walked up to them.

"Hey. Um…" she paused for a moment as everyone turned with various degrees of accusation and anger on their faces. "I just wanted to say how great you all were, and I thought you were amazing."

"We have nothing to say to you," replied Rachel, her arms crossed.

"Because we cheated. I know. I feel terrible about it, but I'm gonna tell the judges right now that we don't deserve to win." New Directions all looked at each other, trying to decide how to process that. Could they dare to hope? Was she telling the truth? But as Mrs. Hitchens reached for the door, it opened and the judges came out.

"And your email address is…?" asked Rob.

"You guys were so much fun to watch," gushed Candy as she saw New Directions and they all brightened. "You should be very proud."

"Um excuse me," Mrs. Hitchens said grabbing Rob's arm. "Um, I have something I need to tell you."

"I'm sorry," replied Rob. "We've made our decision."

Everyone's stomach sank and the nerves set in again. All that was left to do now was to wait.

After they got back to school, Rachel called them together in the choir room.

"Okay, okay!" she called laughing. "Now we have to tell Mr. Schue how we did. He doesn't know. And I thought of a way to thank him for everything he's done for us this year and how much we appreciate it but we'll have to rehearse." But still on the high from the awards ceremony, no one voiced a protest and back to work they went.

The next day after school, everyone gathered in the choir room to present Mr. Schue with their thank you. They let him stew in silence for a few moments after he walked in as he looked at them expectantly. Finn stepped forward.

"Well," he sighed. "We have a few things we'd like to show you Mr. Schue." He glanced around at them as they all stared back somberly.

"First…" continued Finn. He looked around at everyone before jumping aside, revealing the huge trophy sitting on Artie's lap. All boner jokes had long since been gotten out of everyone's system as they prepared for Mr. Schue to arrive.

"Ta-da!" they yelled together and then everyone began laughing.

"I am so proud of you guys!" said Mr. Schue after he had received the trophy. "You won fair and square. The result was unanimous and the judges didn't even know about all the shenanigans that were going on behind the scenes. So congratulations. You earned this!" Everyone was so excited they did question how Mr. Schue knew about the judges and the results already, though rumors of Sue's suspension had already reached them so there weren't that many questions.

"But…" continued Mr. Schue. "…now we have regionals to worry about and you can bet that Vocal Adrenaline is hard at work, so we should be too. So, let's get started."

"Uh, wait Mr. Schue," said Noah. "There's one more thing."

"Since you weren't able to be there to see us perform we put together a special number just for you." Finn came around with a chair and made Mr. Schue sit down.

"Take a seat," said Rachel as they got into their positions. Everyone couldn't help but smile as they sang and pulled dance moves from songs from throughout the last few months. Why he ran out of the room mumbling a thank you and that he hoped he wasn't too late after it had ended, they had no idea. So they looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"You might be up one member heading into sectionals," said Nate as they began to filter out of the room. "I know 13 isn't the best number for a show choir but if I'm going to be hanging around your rehearsals all the time, I should at least try and get in right?" he laughed.

"Dude that's an awesome idea," said Matt clapping his hand on Nate's shoulder.

"It's about time," said Kurt, fake snootily before laughing as everyone else laughed at him.

"We can make 13 work," said Rachel. "It's really simple actually. We fill out the guy sound since we have such strong females and as for the choreography-"

Noah put his hand over his mouth.

"Bye guys see you later," he said as he steered her towards his truck. Everyone laughed again and thanked him as they all headed for their own transportation home.

"Noah," chided Rachel as she pulled his hand away.

"Come on babe we won sectionals. Let's celebrate that before we jump into getting ready for regionals," he said. She sighed.

"Fine." But then she smiled, twining her fingers in his.

"Did you think we'd be here after sectionals?" she asked him. He looked down at her.

"No. But I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Rachel smiled. And as odd as it would have sounded to her a few months ago, she wouldn't be either as she reached up to kiss him. Neither knew of the obstacles still left to come.

* * *

I know it's short but I also have a lot of explanation and I hate chapter's that are just author's notes. Short and sweet for those of short attention spans: I will be continuing this story to the end of season 1. Absolutely no promises past there.

Long version: I have not updated firstly because of college. My senior year. I am now a graduate of Ithaca College. However this past year was very stressful, including my last semester being 20.5 credits. Yeah, don't do that. Anyway, now that I have graduated I have done what all college grads do now. I have moved back in with my mom and I'm working at a grocery store to save money to eventually move somewhere.

But the main reason I stopped updating after the lack of time is of where the show has gone. I can honestly say I haven't and have no plans to watch any of season 3 or 4. Glee has sold out, in my opinion, and they sold out big time. This show had so much potential but as early as the second half of the first season, they were changing characters to fit the story line. Case in point: Artie telling Tina she has to change to be with him in the Madonna episode so they can sing What It Feels Like for a Girl at the end. But really they were beginning to lose my interest by the end of season 2. Ironically enough, Glee inspired me to write this. And it also killed my inspiration to write this. I seriously considered just ending the story after this chapter. But even after all this time, I still get notifications of a new person subscribing to the story. I still get the message asking if I will continue, and thank you to those of you who tried to find tactful ways of asking that. And frankly I've been finding myself thinking about it more.

I have absolutely no interest in rewriting the Glee storyline to a quote on quote 'better' story. It's why I refuse to promise anything past the end of season 1. But I figure I can wrap up most of the storylines in my story by the end of season 1 in a good enough way that it will just feel like a show you liked got cancelled after the first season (DAMN YOU FOX FOR CANCELLING THE FINDER) but I still have enough inspiration, and frankly scenes I had already written back in the hey day of the fic, in the second half of season 1 that I can pull this off. Thank you to all of those who will stick. And thank you to those who won't but read at any point. Looking at the stats my story still has is absolutely mindblowing. Thank you all.

Extra special thanks to those who read the entire author's note. Internet cookies for you.


	41. Chapter 40

WOW! Thank you guys so much for the response and being so understanding. Thank you for all the reviews and favs and follows. Just thank you! I know some of you were wanting some more original content so this chapter should satisfy you. I don't know the exact timeline between the end of Sectionals and the start of Hell-o but I'm assuming for the sake of this story that it's about a week. Enjoy! Or not. You probably won't. *sinister music*

* * *

The next day went quickly, everyone till riding the high of winning sectionals. Before they knew it, school was over and it was time for Glee.

"Isn't it amazing?" Rachel asked Noah as they walked towards the choir room. "Look how far we've come from just a few months ago."

"Look how far you've come," countered Noah. "You've dealt with the hockey team stuff so well."

Rachel smiled at him.

"Well I still have the occasional nightmare, but I've had a lot of help," she replied, nudging him slightly. They both laughed.

"Either way, things are looking up," she continued. "And now Nate is going to be part of our group too!"

They walked into the choir room to see Nate holding a guitar.

"Dude, I didn't know you played," said Noah. Nate laughed.

"Yeah I do. Nothing serious. I had been really focused on hockey." Noah's face went dark for a moment before smiling at him.

"Well relax, you'll do fine."

"I agree with Noah," nodded Rachel. The rest of the club began to file in. Finn was one of the last to arrive. Mr. Schue walked in.

"Okay guys I know I said I wanted to start getting ready for regionals right away but I figured you guys deserved a little time off. So after Nate auditions, you guys can leave. For homework, just think about things you think we can improve on or songs you think would work well for us. Just don't go overboard," he added as an afterthought catching sight of Rachel's excited face. The group laughed.

"Why does Nate have to audition anyway? I mean we all want him in," said Kurt.

"Well you guys all had to audition," replied Mr. Schue.

"This is a Glee club which means singing and I have to be able to," added Nate. "Otherwise it will feel like a handout and I don't like handouts." Mr. Schue just smiled and nodded.

"I mean I think I have an okay voice so I should be good," laughed Nate.

"Whenever you're ready," said Mr. Schue. Nate took a deep breath and there was a pause before he started playing his guitar.

_I need you here but you're always so far away…_

Smiles broke out on every single Glee club member's face as well as Mr. Schue's.

_I call you up but you know it's just never the same  
Cause being closer to you is my sweetest escape  
It's all I needed  
I need you here but you're always so far away_

Nate's nervousness began to disappear and with a wide smile he blew into the chorus.

_This is our night  
The look in your eyes  
Says we can go all the way  
I'm losing my mind  
Broken inside  
I want you to take my breath away  
It's obvious that my heart beats for you_

_Just let go tonight  
We're so close tonight  
Just let go tonight  
We're so close tonight_

_This is our night  
Look in my eyes  
We can go all the way  
I'm losing my mind  
Broken inside  
Take my breath away_

_This is our night  
The look in your eyes  
Says we can go all the way  
I'm losing my mind  
Broken inside  
Take my breath away  
It's obvious that my heart beats for you  
It's obvious that my heart beats for you_

Nate played through the chord progression one last time.

_It's so obvious that my heart beats for you…_ he improvised over the last chord. The Glee club immediately started clapping and yelling for him.

"Now why'd you go and make us think you weren't that good?" questioned Kurt.

"I agree with Kurt," said Mr. Schue standing up. "Your voice is way above just okay Nate." Nate just looked sheepish.

"Well, I didn't think it was that great."

"Well you're wrong," said Kurt before everyone started laughing.

"Okay, okay, I'm good," said Nate. The Glee club cheered.

"Welcome officially to the Glee Club Nate," said Mr. Schue, sending up another wave of cheers.

"Now enjoy your day off," continued Mr. Schue as he left the room.

"You know I saw him and Miss Pillsberry together today," said Matt.

"You think getting the day off is so he can spend time with her?" asked Mercedes.

"Well I had heard she was going to leave and now it doesn't look like she is," added Artie.

"Who cares how it came about? Afternoon off," said Santana laughing. "I'm going to enjoy it."

Everyone agreed and made their way out. Finn stood looking around the choir room for a little bit before he left as well.

* * *

That night, Finn glared at the ceiling while lying on his bed. The happiness from winning sectionals had already begun to fade away and his anger had returned. What did that asshole deserve? Fucking nothing. Yet he was still walking around school with Rachel on his arm. He had warned her. He had warned her Puck was going to hurt her. So why was she still with him? He winced a bit as he remembered how he had shook Rachel and then scared her in the classroom later. But that was different. He could make up for that. How the hell did Puck make up for having a baby with someone? He sat up as a thought crossed his mind. Maybe there was a way to fix both things. He could repay Rachel for what he had done and get Puck away from her. And then he wouldn't be the one alone.

Finn shook his head. No. This was about repaying Rachel, not about him. But if she ran back to him, he wouldn't complain. He pushed away the stab of guilt he felt as he began to think about what he would say to Puck. There was no good reason for him and Rachel to be together.

* * *

The next morning, Finn went to look for Puck. When he found him, he was at Rachel's locker. He rolled his eyes as Puck kissed her before heading off to his first class. Finn followed and after they had turned a few corners he moved closer.

"Puck," he called. He turned.

"What do you want?" asked Puck, wary and still angry about many things about Finn and his actions.

"Look, I'm still angry with you about… the baby… Quinn… but I know you're still pissed at me about what happened with Rachel when you told me..."

"Yeah no shit," replied Puck rolling his eyes.

"And I have to repay her for that. So that's why I'm here."

"What you think making friends again will be a repayment for scaring her?"

"I don't want to be friends with you after what you did to my girlfriend," spat Finn. "I'm here to ask you what you're doing with Rachel. She's out of your league. She's really going to be something. She's going to go to college and then she'll be on Broadway one day. And what about you? You're already going to have a kid. You really think you're going to leave this town? You'll be just like your dad another-"

"Don't you fucking say it, you asshole," growled Puck grabbing Finn's shirt. "I don't know what got into your peabrain to think that this helps Rachel in anyway, but I think I know the reason and she would never go back to you. Fuck off." He pushed Finn away and stalked off. Yet despite himself, he felt some of Finn's words hit home. Rachel was going places. That wasn't even a question. And he wasn't abandoning his baby. He wasn't going to be anything like his dad. Then where did that leave him and Rachel? He growled, shoved his hands into his pockets, turned on his heel, and lengthened his stride as he stalked out of the school.

* * *

"Hey, have any of you guys seen Noah?" questioned Rachel at lunch. "I haven't seen him since this morning and he hasn't answered any text I sent him." The table shook their heads.

"I haven't seen him at all today," said Mercedes. Rachel frowned.

"This isn't like him…"

"I'm sure everything's fine Rachel," said Tina. Rachel just nodded still looking worried.

* * *

By the end of the day, Noah still was nowhere to be seen. Rachel was starting to get frantic and the rest of their friends were starting to worry. But he walked into Glee rehearsal just barely in the nick of time. Everyone cheered up. However, Rachel didn't have a chance to talk to him because Mr. Schue launched right into the rehearsal.

After practice, everyone looked to Noah.

"Where were you?" asked Mike.

"Rachel was worried sick," added Nate. Noah said nothing.

"Noah?" said Rachel. A grimace seemed to cross his face as he stood up.

"This isn't working. We're done," he said gruffly and walked out of the room. Shocked silence followed him. Then one by one, everyone looked at Rachel. Her eyes were the widest they'd seen in a long time and tears slowly began to fill them.

"…What?" she said. No one seemed to know what to say. As her first tear fell, Nate, Mike, and Matt left the room, going after Noah.

"Rachel…" said Kurt stepping forward.

"But he can't mean it right. I mean I couldn't have done something that bad. There's just a misunderstanding somewhere. Right? Right?" she said, speaking very very fast and shaking her head every now and then as if it would help not make this true.

"Something isn't right," said Quinn, trying to comfort Rachel.

"Matt and the others will bring him back," said Mercedes. Rachel shifted her gaze to the door. Minutes passed. And when the door opened, she stepped forward, but her face fell as only three people stepped back into the room. Mike, Matt, and Nate.

"He wouldn't come back. And…" said Matt, trailing off. There was silence for a moment.

"He said he's made up his mind and… that if it wasn't clear he's breaking up with you," said Nate finally. Rachel didn't say anything for a moment. Then she covered her face with her hands and began to let go of the tears she had tried to hold back. Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina rushed forward at once. No one knew what to say. What had prompted this? Why in the world had Noah broken up with her? They all stayed to try and comfort Rachel. Finn stayed though he didn't say anything and stayed towards the back of the room. One by one they left. Finn left, his shoulders higher and not as slumped as they had been since he found out about the baby. Kurt and Mercedes stayed with Rachel to take her home. Finally, she spoke, the first words they could get out of her since she began to cry.

"Why?" was all she said. Kurt and Mercedes exchanged a glance and didn't say anything in reply.

"Let's get you home," said Mercedes finally. As they walked out into the parking lot, over at the exit from the gym, the hockey team was leaving practice. Rachel shrank away from their raucous noise and shook ever so slightly. Alarm raced across Kurt and Mercedes' faces.

"Honey you're okay. You know that right?" said Kurt. "Even without… without him it's still okay. Right?" Rachel didn't say anything. But she didn't really need to. Fear had returned to her eyes. It wasn't as bad as it had been those first weeks afterwards, but it was there.

"I'm going to kill him," growled Mercedes under her breath.

"Come on honey," said Kurt, leading her towards Mercedes' car. Rachel had fallen silent again. When they got her home, they stayed for a while. They offered to help but Rachel just shook her head and eventually she said, "I just want to be alone." So Kurt and Mercedes left. Rachel looked around the house. Everywhere there were memories of Noah.

"I don't understand," she whispered. She climbed the stairs up to her room, curled up in her bed, and after staring blankly across the room, eventually fell asleep.

* * *

She was expecting the dream. And still it seemed to sneak up on her. She was wandering the hallways, calling for Noah who was nowhere to be found.

_This isn't working. We're done._

"Noah?" called Rachel, starting to run towards the voice. But behind her, his voice came again.

_This isn't working. We're done._

"Noah!" she cried again. His voice began to repeat around her and before she knew it, the sound had become the hockey team.

"All alone Berry?" asked Karofksy. She screamed.

Rachel almost flew out of her bed as she rocketed back to consciousness. Her fingers shook as she grabbed her phone ready to dial the person she knew would chase away the dreams, the fear, the flashbacks, everything she thought she had dealt with. But even as her mind told her to dial, her fingers stopped, hovering over the speed dial for Noah. A low keening escaped her as she hunched over the phone.

"Why Noah?" she cried. "Why?"

And in the end her fingers reached for another number.

"There better be a good reason this can't wait until morning," came the grumpy answer.

"Kurt," she said, her voice trembling.

"Honey what's wrong?" replied Kurt, instantly more alert and concerned. She burst into tears.

"I… bad dream… can't… Noah… can't call him… why?" she managed to get out.

"Oh honey it's okay," Kurt soothed as the sounds in the background indicated he was moving around. "I'm coming over right now and we're going to stay on the phone and then tomorrow I'm going to kick Mr. Puckerman." A small laugh found its way around Rachel's sobs.

"It'll be alright Rachel. Okay?" Rachel nodded and made a positive noise. It wasn't too much longer until Kurt was there. He had chatted to her the whole time he was driving. Mainly he had done the talking, she was still crying. They sat on her bed as Kurt hugged her.

"It'll be okay," he soothed.

"Why did he do this?" she asked.

"…I don't know," replied Kurt. "I'm really stumped. But we'll figure it out. He's crazy about you hun."

"Then why did he leave?" asked Rachel, pulling out of the hug to look at him. "Why?"

And looking back at her tear stained face, Kurt didn't have an answer.

* * *

Sooooooooooo, this has been decided since basically when I started the fic. It's how Jesse fits in. (And the answer is no, she isn't really interested in him in this fic. Try and keep from completely freaking out haha) This is the little arc of my own story that will be going on as the cannon continues through the second half of season 1. I can't say much more without giving too much away so I'll just say that I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Oh, the song Nate sings is So Obvious by Runner Runner

I don't own that song or Glee. I do own Nate. No stealy.


	42. Chapter 41

First, apologies for the wait. I've had exactly one day off since I last updated and I had to do things around the house that day. I even worked today but don't have another day off until Sunday so I sat down and finished this chapter. Second, apologies for the length. I figured you guys would want at least some sort of update rather than wait at least another week. Work comes before this so while I apologize for the delay, I'm not apologizing for the reason for the delay. I need to save money and while I enjoy writing this story when I come home exhausted, I'm not forcing myself to write anything.

With that said I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Noah wasn't having a restful night either. He lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling, as he had since he had first got into bed hours ago. He hated himself for what he had done. He hated knowing that he had ruined everything with her. So much of his life had been better with her. But Finn was right. All he would do was hold her back. And how could he do that when he cared so much? So when he felt his hands itch for his phone to explain everything, he just clenched them into fists and continued to stare at the ceiling. She was everything. He was nothing. So he had to let her go.

* * *

Kurt stayed the rest of the night at Rachel's and thankfully with his presence she didn't have anymore nightmares.

When Rachel showed up at school the next day, she was surrounded by her friends and it almost brought her to tears.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"We're going to deal with him," promised Nate. Rachel didn't say anything and after some words of encouragement, the boys left.

"How are you doing honey?" asked Mercedes.

"Why?" asked Rachel, looking up at them. They all exchanged glances.

"We don't know," said Tina finally.

"We couldn't think of anything," put in Santana.

"None of us saw this coming," said Quinn. Rachel lowered her head.

"Don't worry Rachel," said Brittany. "The boys will figure it out."

* * *

Meanwhile, the boys had found Noah at his locker and surrounded him. He ignored them.

"Dude what is wrong with you?" demanded Matt.

"Why did you break up with her?" put in Nate. Noah slammed his locker shut and glared at them before beginning to turn.

"She had to call Kurt last night because the nightmares came back," snapped Artie. Noah froze for a split second before turning and stalking off. The boys looked at each other.

"Did you see that?" asked Mike. They all nodded.

"Then why?" said Artie

"And what the hell happened to make him do that?" said Nate. None of them had an answer, but they all knew they were going to find out.

Because the look on Noah's face when he heard about the nightmares was the very image of regret, guilt, worry, and most of all, caring.

* * *

Noah stood around the corner from Rachel's locker.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid._

The same thought kept running through his brain. He and Rachel had rarely slept in different houses since the hockey team had attacked her. While the first part of it was because she was still having nightmares and the second part of it was because they were dating, he still hadn't put it together that the nightmares would come back. A part of him was in denial, hoping that the boys were just trying to make him feel guilty. But the rest of him was a giant knife made entirely of guilt stuck right in his heart. He peered around the corner and cursed under his breath as he saw the group of girls and Kurt at Rachel's locker. It wasn't the girls that bothered him. He could see Rachel and he could tell she wasn't alright. He cursed again as he leaned back against the wall.

Now what? He couldn't just leave her alone and let her deal with them. But getting involved would show that something was up with the breakup. He stalked away. He had the rest of the day to make up his mind.

* * *

The bell rang to signal lunch and Rachel left her classroom, put her books in her locker, and began walking towards the cafeteria without really paying attention to what she was doing. She was completely preoccupied with Noah and why he had broken up with her. She loved him, she knew that and she thought he had cared, maybe even begun to love her. How could she have been so wrong? She felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned and felt her eyes go wide.

"Noah," she whispered.

"You shouldn't think anything of this," he said gruffly. "Just saying my piece and that's it."

"Noah why?" she asked.

"What do you think you're doing having nightmares again?" he demanded, his voice a little harder as he fought against the pull of her sweet brown eyes just on the verge of tearing up.

"But you-"

"I had nothing to do with you getting over that. The fear," he said gruffly. "I was there as a support. You used your own strength to beat it. You've had your strength all along. You just have to find it now." He paused. "So suck it up and deal with it because me leaving shouldn't bring back the fear." He turned on his heel and walked away quickly. Rachel was in such shock that she couldn't even call after him. She just stared as he walked away and turned a corner. She didn't know how long she stood there.

"Where have you been?" asked Mercedes. Rachel just kept staring down the hall.

"Noah came to see me," she said.

"What did he say?" demanded Tina.

"He told me that I shouldn't have to rely on him to beat the fear. I've had my strength all along. I just needed to find it," she said almost distracted, her gaze never wavering from where Noah had turned the corner.

"What?" said Quinn.

"That doesn't make sense," said Santana.

"It's almost like…" started Kurt.

"I think he still cares…" whispered Rachel. "Then why…?" The girls exchanged glances before beginning to make idle chatter as they steered Rachel off to lunch. While they agreed with her, the last thing they wanted to do at this point was get her hopes up.

"Something's off," said Matt as the boys joined the table the girls had sat at.

"What do you mean?" asked Mercedes.

"About Puck," said Mike. "We think…" he trailed off looking at Rachel.

"Well he didn't react the way someone who had just broken up with someone would when we told him about the nightmare Rachel had," said Nate.

"I knew it," whispered Rachel, a tiny smile spreading across her face. "He does still care."

"Then why?" said Brittany. The group fell silent.

"We'll find out," said Artie.

"Yeah you girls can help Rachel deal with the nightmares while we work on Puck," said Mike. Rachel smiled.

"Thank you."

* * *

That night the girls had a sleepover at Rachel's house. And while Rachel was still subdued, she had hope and a faint smile staying around the corners of her mouth. So with Noah's words in her heart and her friends in her house, she slept soundly that night.

* * *

"Look we know you still care about Rachel," pushed Artie, the next day at lunch. They had been pestering Noah since the day before.

"We just want to know why you broke up with her if you do care," said Matt.

"I mean it's obvious you're miserable," said Mike. "Not to mention how upset Rachel was."

"Leave me alone," growled Noah.

"Then tell us," said Nate. And finally Noah snapped.

"You really want to know? Go ask Finn." The four boys stood shocked as Noah walked away. But it was only a moment before that shock turned to anger and they turned to find the quarterback.

* * *

Some very unexpected things happen in the next chapter and the cannon of the second half of season one begins either end of next chapter or the one after that. Hope you enjoyed and sorry again about the shortness.


	43. Chapter 42

Apologies again. Many things have happened family-wise, work-wise, and money-wise since the last update and I will not list them all but I have been busy. I have been stressed. And most importantly, I've had almost no time to myself. A lot of things change when those bills for your student loans start coming in. I said I will finish this story up to the end of the season and I will. I'm beginning to find a balance between stress, work, and everything else and most importantly to the story, my creativity is coming back. So enjoy this short chapter and I will do my best to get a longer one out in the near future.

* * *

Finn was pacing in the locker room when they found him.

"Look you don't even have to say it," he said when he saw their faces. "I messed up. Man did I mess up."

"What gave you the first clue?" said Nate acidly. Finn growled in frustration and stopped pacing to look at him.

"Fine. I'm an idiot. I'm an asshole. What do you want from me? I know I messed up."

"What did you say to him?" asked Mike. Finn groaned and ran both his hands through his hair as he started pacing again. After a pause he spoke.

"I told him Rachel was out of his league. She's going to college he's having a kid. He's just going to hold her back. I said…" And his silence seemed to tell the others what he had said.

"You didn't," growled Matt.

"You fucking moron," yelled Mike as he slammed Finn into the lockers.

"Of all of us you know what his dad did to him and how he feels about it," said Artie. "And you would actually compare Puck to him?"

"Not to mention that your eyes must have been glued shut to not see how Puck has changed since he started dating her," said Mike.

"I KNOW!" yelled Finn glaring down at Mike. Then his anger faded away. "I don't know what I was thinking…" After a moment, Mike drew back and let Finn go.

"So what are you going to do about it?" asked Nate after a moment.

"I don't know," sighed Finn.

"Apologies sound like a good start," said Artie, his voice slightly hard.

"And say what?" snapped Finn. "Gee sorry Rachel I thought I was helping you out but I fucked up because I want you back?"

"Jesus how fucked up are you?" said Matt incredulous. "You want her back?"

"That ship has sailed my friend," said Artie.

"And again," said Mike. "Have you not seen how both Rachel _and_ Puck have changed?!"

"So what I'm supposed to lose both Quinn _and _ Rachel to him?" demanded Finn.

"You lost Rachel on your own," said Nate. "Puck had nothing to do with it."

"But…"

"You know her nightmares came back," said Matt. Finn flinched.

"I know…" he whispered.

"Then why are you still here?" bit off Mike.

"Well I can say stuff to her fine but what about him? I still can't look at him without wanting to punch him for Quinn. But apologizing?"

"He offered first at sectionals," said Artie. "You blew him off."

"That was different," protested Finn.

"How?" chorused the boys.

"I don't know!" yelled Finn slamming a locker door.

"It's time for you to grow up Finn," said Matt.

"You're still only thinking of yourself," said Mike.

"But there's two people out there who lost the ground they've been gaining for weeks because of your selfish decision and they both deserve better," said Nate.

"You at least owe Rachel to try and fix this so she can get back to where she was. She doesn't deserve to go back to the fear and the nightmares," finished Artie. They began to turn and leave.

"Maybe with what you decide you won't have lost the rest of your friends as well," said Nate from the doorway before following Artie out. Finn just stared at the door, unable to say anything. After a moment, he bowed his head and ran his fingers through his hair.

"What have I done..." he whispered.

* * *

This is the beginning of Finn's arc as a character in my story. I see him as an overall good person, but a very selfish and easily influenced person as well. I hope you enjoy my take.


	44. Chapter 43

Work. Work around the house. Work musically. Difficult times for friends and family.

I won't say any more but I'm sure you know what that list means. Really besides that, I just could not figure out how to have the scene with Finn and Rachel go. I'm happy with the way I got it to turn out and it will help tie up some other plot lines a little further ways down too since once I reach the end of season 2, I'm finishing the story as I'm sure I've mentioned before. I think, _think,_ that updates will come more often now. I've gotten past a big road block. So now all that's in my way is finding free time I don't already have rationed out to others/other things haha. Now enjoy!

* * *

Finn ended up leaving school that day without saying anything. That night he just lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. He knew what he had to do. He just didn't want to. He sighed and closed his eyes. He knew he had to tell her. The rest of them would tell her if he didn't. And then he'd definitely lose her. Maybe forever… His eyes opened again. Even reaching a decision wasn't going to allow him sleep tonight.

* * *

Rachel walked into school the next morning, searching for her friends. She had wracked her brain the night before for any reason Noah would do what he had but she had come up blank. To her surprise, she found almost the entire Glee club circled up at the side of one of the hallways.

"Are you guys trying to figure out what's up with Noah too?" she asked as she approached. She was too preoccupied to notice the shifty looks a few of them had.

"No luck," said Kurt. Rachel sighed.

"Me either. I just don't understand."

"It'll work out somehow," offered Nate. Rachel smiled.

"Thank you Nate. I know it will." She turned and headed to her locker. The group exchanged glances with each other.

"Here we go," said Mike after a moment and they all separated.

* * *

Finn did his best to avoid Rachel through most of the day. But even he wasn't so dense as to not notice the boys that had found him in the locker room the day before following him around.

"Stop it okay," he finally hissed at Matt when he got too close. "I'll tell her right after school."

"Then you'll go to Puck's," said Matt, his voice flat. Finn growled and pushed him away before hurrying off. Matt watched him go before pulling out his phone and sending off a group text as he headed for his next class.

Right before last period started, Finn stopped Rachel. He stood a fair distance from her still.

"Can I talk to you Rachel? After school in the choir room?" he asked. Rachel hesitated. She had planned to go over to Noah's after school and see if she could find anything out herself.

"Please Rachel," he begged.

"Okay Finn," she said before turning and hurrying off. Finn watched her go, his heart sinking. She wasn't going to forgive him was she?

* * *

After the final bell rang, Finn slowly made his way to the choir room. He paused by the door, seeing Rachel was already there, looking a little impatient. He took a deep breath before opening the door.

He didn't see the figures watching him around a corner further down the hallway.

"Finn, there you are," said Rachel as he walked in. "I have somewhere I want to go, so if you could make this quick." He felt his heart tighten.

"You want to go see Puck." She looked confused.

"Well of course. I don't understand why he broke up with me. He cares. He still does." Slowly her face began to fall as she saw the guilty and slightly tortured look on Finn's face.

"Finn…" she said slowly. "Why do you want to talk to me?"

"I have… to tell you something," he said, looking down.

"What have you done?" she whispered.

"I was trying to help you," he said, looking back up at her desperately. "I was. He can't be trusted. So… I…"

"What have you done?" she repeated, no longer whispering, disbelief turning to something harder.

"I talked to him," said Finn and it all came spilling out. "What are you even doing with him Rachel? He's not anywhere close to your league. You're going to college. You're going to be a star. He's having a kid. With my girlfriend. Here. And that's what I told him. And if he stayed with you, he'd end up being his dad." Rachel rocked back as if Finn had punched her as those words came out of his mouth. She just stared at him eyes wide.

"But even though I was trying to help you, the nightmares came back. I never ever meant to hurt you. I'm so sorry that happened. So that's why I'm telling you. To apologize. Please forgive me," he pleaded. Slowly, the shock wore off her face and a new emotion began to grow there, one that slowly began to twist her mouth into a sneer. The heat grew and grew in her eyes.

"Get out," she said angrily.

"Rachel-"

"You don't get to say anything else!" she yelled. "I can't _believe_ I was ever scared of you. You're a coward. You're a _terrible_ friend. _You're_ the loser. You are. You know, _you know,_ what that does to him and you said that? You actually said that thinking it was in my best interests? Well you're a liar too Finn Hudson. Get out of my sight." He didn't say anything but just stood there, pleading with his eyes.

"OUT!" she yelled, an angry tear rolling down her face. The room rang for a moment before, slowly, he turned and left. She spun on her heel and ran out the other door. As she rounded the corner, she almost ran into Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, and Artie.

"Whoa there Rach," said Artie.

"Calm down hun," said Kurt.

"Finn said-"

"We know," said Tina. "He came clean to the boys yesterday."

They could almost feel the heat come off of Rachel.

"Look," said Mercedes. "It wasn't our place to tell. He had to apologize. And you aren't going to get anywhere going to see Puck the way you are now."

"So I'm supposed to let this go? Let Noah leave because he thinks he's not being a Lima loser by letting me go? Doing me a favor?" demanded Rachel.

"Of course not," said Kurt trying to placate her. "But Finn was apparently going to see Puck after this."

"If you went and all three of you were there," said Tina.

"Well it might not go so well…" said Artie tentatively. Rachel just stood there, still trembling slightly in anger.

"Fine," she bit off. "I'll wait until tomorrow."

"Okay good," sighed Mercedes.

"Now come on Rachel," said Kurt. "Let's calm down a little." The four led Rachel off. Finn leaned against the wall, out of sight behind a corner. He sighed. Now he almost had to go see Puck. He really didn't want to do that. He straightened.

"She'll never ever forgive me if I don't go," he said to himself. And with his shoulders slumped a little he left the school and headed towards Puck's.

* * *

Finn stood outside Puck's house, unable to knock despite how long he had been standing there. He didn't want to be here. He still hated Puck with all of his being for Quinn. It made his blood boil.

"I'm not a big fan of morons hanging out on my front porch," said a voice acidly, breaking Finn's thoughts. He looked up to see Puck glaring at him, leaning against his door frame.

"Leave," he said.

"No," breathed Finn. "I came here… I came here to say something."

"It looks like you came here to try and say something then just stood on my porch."

"Dammit Puck!" growled Finn. Puck's face went hard and he slowly straightened.

"Don't. Push. Me," he warned.

"I shouldn't have said those things to you," said Finn. Puck just stared holes in the quarterback.

"It came back to Rachel and it shouldn't have. She paid for it."

"You should be apologizing to her," said Puck.

"I did. She just…" Finn trailed off. Puck scoffed.

"Typical."

"What's that supposed to mean?" growled Finn, rolling his shoulders.

"Rachel, Rachel, Rachel, Rachel. That's all that mattered to you since you met her. Even when you had Quinn."

"Don't you say her name."

"You don't get to tell me what to do," said Puck, clenching his fists. "Rachel didn't forgive you and you know she never will unless you came here."

"And here I am," said Finn.

"Dancing around an apology," said Puck, his voice hard.

"You shouldn't get one! You slept with my girlfriend!" yelled Finn, snapping.

"You shook mine!" roared back Puck so full of anger that Finn took a step back. "After everything she has gone through you put your hands on her. You scared her! Then you went and 'tried to help her' and ended up bringing back the fear! I think we're fucking even now! Want to do any more damage?"

"Don't pull that!" Finn tried to retort.

"Oh I get to pull that because it's all fucking true and you know it. I can see it in your pathetic puppy dog eyes hoping everything will be forgiven and you'll be the golden boy again just so down the line you can fuck it up again," said Puck.

"Fine," yelled Finn. "You're right. You're right about everything. I was wrong okay?"

"Yeah," breathed Puck heavily. "Yeah you were." His eyes were still fierce with anger.

"I never should have brought up your dad. Man I-"

"I already know everything you're going to say and I don't feel like hearing it," said Puck starting to deflate.

"I was wrong. You and Rachel…" Finn paused. "Both of you were better people."

"Rachel doesn't need to be better. Rachel is better," said Puck, the anger just draining away. Finn looked confused.

"So… you'll get back together?" he asked.

"No," said Puck, his voice hollow as he began to close the door.

"Wait, wait, wait, what?" demanded Finn grabbing the door with one hand and Puck's shoulder with the other. "What are you talking about?" Heat flickered in Puck's eyes before dying.

"You weren't wrong about everything," replied Puck, his face showing nothing. Angry confusion crossed Finn's face.

"Dude you aren't making any sense."

"Rachel Berry is out of my league," said Puck, slowly and as if it hurt him to say so. Finn took a step back in shock.

"She deserves better." And with that, Puck closed the door. Finn stood there, staring at the door and for the first time, it began to sink in just what he had done.

_She's out of your league._

He took another step back before dashing to his car, trying to run from the realization.

_She's really going to be something._

But even as he left the house behind him, Puck's words, and his own from a few days ago, echoed in his head and after he had parked at his house he slowly lowered his head to the steering wheel.

_And what about you?_

_Rachel Berry is out of my league._

Too late, much too late, Finn had finally realized just what he had set in motion with his selfishness. He looked up, self-disgust and horror crossing his face.

"I don't know if I can fix this…"

* * *

The next morning, Rachel stood at the entrance to the school, waiting for Noah. She smiled as she saw him approach.

"Noah," she called. "I want to talk." But he just kept walking. Rachel frowned before turning and following him.

On the other side of the school, Finn slowly approached Mike, Matt, and Nate, all chatting by Matt's locker. They stopped talking as he approached, but the angry faces slowly turned worried and apprehensive as they saw his expression.

"We have a problem."

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this!

I feel I have to say the following because the people who have brought it up, left anonymous reviews and I have no way of responding to them. Feel free to ignore what follows.

What makes a great fanfiction to me is that it could happen within the cannon of the original world. Whether that be movie, tv show, book, musical, anime, whatever. As such, I will not write out Finn or Jessie or change any of these characters drastically. I feel these characters are how I interpret the characters from the first two seasons of Glee. Anything that seems slightly OOC from the cannon, I feel has the proper impetus in this story to put them where they are, however, in my opinion, they still belong in the cannon universe even though this story is not cannon.

This is how I write. This is what I think makes a good fanfiction and a good story, good characters whether original or from cannon. If you want to read a story with just Puck and Rachel together happy and no problems, I suggest you find another story. Or write your own. I have no problems with reviews voicing people's own opinions on this story. I welcome it. It helps me to find where my blind spots have come up in certain chapters. But when your review tells me, not suggests or points out things I may improve, flat out tells me what to do with my story, it at the very least annoys me.

I write this story for my own enjoyment. I enjoy getting inside well written character's heads and seeing what would happen when I put them in different situations. I am in no way threatening to end this story just because of a few people. I am just trying to explain what this story means to me and what good fanfiction means to me. Especially how I write this story.

Thank you all for following and dealing with the long breaks between updates. Your favorites and follows and reviews mean the world to me.


	45. Chapter 44

This is the fastest chapter I have ever written. It literally just flew off my fingers. And it's because I finally realized what isn't getting across in this story. I got a couple of guest reviews for the last chapters and they helped me figure out what wasn't getting across to you guys. Noah's state of mind and the way he thinks, within my story. I have everything for this story inside my mind, so everything makes complete sense to me but I also know that I don't always communicate that well so I hope this chapter will help clear up some issues, and the rest I'll address in the footnote. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"I don't understand," said Rachel at lunch. "Finn apologized yesterday. Noah even sort of admitted to it. Why is he still ignoring me?"

"Give him a little time?" suggested Tina.

"This whole real girlfriend thing is new to him," agreed Kurt.

"It'll work out somehow Rachel," said Mike. "We'll get him to realize he's being stupid." As the chatter continued, Matt stayed silent, though the tap of his fingers on his lunch tray indicated his mind was far from spacing. He caught a glimpse of Puck taking a quick look over at the table before turning his back. Matt sighed and sat back in his chair, appearing to come to a decision. His mind shifted to contributing a little to the conversation the rest of lunch and bide his time until the end of the day.

The school was emptying as Rachel stood at her locker, her mind trying to remember what she had to bring home while thinking of Noah and what she would say to him. She still didn't understand why he didn't believe her and so she couldn't figure out much more to say than to try and get him to understand that Finn was wrong. She almost jumped as she heard a voice call her name and turned. Matt was standing there, looking at his shoes. Rachel frowned.

"What is it Matt?" she asked.

"I need to talk to you," he said, still not meeting her eyes. She sighed.

"Matt, I don't mean any disrespect, but now is a bad time. I'm still trying to figure out what to say to Noah-"

"I know how to help," he said, finally raising his head to fix her with his gaze. She was almost taken aback at the determination and truth in them.

"You do?" she asked. "All of us have told him that what Finn said was ridiculous. He won't listen. I can't figure it out…"

"Just because you say Finn was wrong, we say Finn was wrong, even Finn says he was wrong, Puck doesn't believe it." His gaze was still on hers and for some reason, she began to believe he did know how to help.

"But why?" asked Rachel. "Why wouldn't he believe his friends?"

"Because when he looks at it, it's not wrong to him and his reasoning. So all of us are just trying to make him feel better."

"How could he possibly think he's not worthy, not a bad boyfriend, didn't do anything wrong, just simply unworthy of dating me?" she demanded, completely confused.

"Rachel, you've always had confidence. Even if something would get you down, you'd get back up. You've had the support to get you to that place. Not to mention your own personality," said Matt with a smile, though it faded as he continued.

"Puck hasn't talked to any of us about his dad and that time of his life. Well, I think he's talked to you now. You wouldn't let him go otherwise when that time of year came around. But the point is, I don't know how he's affected by that. But I can guess…" He sighed.

"He had to be a father to his sister, almost a husband to his mom, all while trying to grow up himself. A kid could never take care of all those responsibilities and after enough failures, combined with what normally goes through your head when your parents split, he grew up thinking he would never be good enough. At, or for, anything. Then, after he gets to a point where both his mother and his sister can take care of themselves to a degree, he's in high school and being able to do things that actually make him happy. Football. Girls. All of that stuff. But then, since he doesn't care about school work, those words start being thrown around."

"Lima loser…" whispered Rachel, her eyes wide and beginning to tear up. Matt nodded.

"So it gets even worse. But then he finds you the first time. And he can say he was trying to get into your pants until he's blue in the face, he wasn't. He found someone who saw him as a person. Didn't judge him too harshly for what he had done in the past. And he started to be happy. But you were still hung up on Finn. And when you broke it off, it hurt I'm sure, but at that point he was used to it. But the second time he found you, everything changed. He was put in a situation where he had to take care of someone and he succeeded. He really did. Then to combine that with what he found the first time and he's a different person. He's the person he deserves to be. But when Finn said that he was holding you back, that you were out of his league, Puck had already thought that, even known that. But he had ignored it. For once, he ignored that kind of thinking that he wasn't good enough." Matt paused.

"…Being confronted with it by someone else, even knowing that Finn didn't know what he was saying and was saying it for ridiculous reasons, he couldn't ignore it anymore. He's not strong enough to. But… I hope with this you can help him to be."

Rachel stared at Matt as a tear rolled down her face. She felt in her heart everything Matt had said was completely correct.

"How?" she whispered. Matt finally looked away from her as he scuffed his shoe against the floor.

"I can be quieter. I'm in my head a lot," he said. "I… watch I guess? I know more about you guys than I let on. I never say anything because if I just started letting shit I had figured out slip, it would seem creepy. So it stays in my head." He looked back at her.

"So, I can't say that's what he's thinking. That's what I think he's thinking. But you know him, the real him, the best and I think it will put you on the right path to getting him back." He turned and began to walk away. Rachel touched his arm and he paused.

"Matt… your parents…" she said softly, not speaking the question.

"I wasn't as young as Puck," was all he said before putting his hands in his pockets and walking down the hallway. Rachel just watched him go.

* * *

Later that night, Rachel stood outside Noah's house. She took a deep breath, remembering the strength that Matt's words had given her and knocked on the door. Noah opened the door. Rachel caught the brief look of surprise before it vanished beneath the flat look on his face.

"We're talking," she said, pushing past him into the house. She heard him sigh and close the door before she turned.

"You've been ignoring me."

"I know what you'll say," he replied. Her eyebrows rose.

"You really think that."

"I know the gist of what you'll say, at least," he said after a pause. She planted her hands on her hips.

"Well let's hear it then." He sighed again. He didn't want to do this. It was bad enough to have her in his house. To even be as close to her as he was. This wasn't easy as it was and she was making it damn near impossible.

"Come on," she said.

"Same thing everyone else has told me. Same thing you've already told me. Finn was wrong. I do deserve you. Repeat as needed," he replied as dry as she was being.

"Haven't you proven that you deserve me already?" Noah looked at her confused at not only the complete change of tone but the words themselves.

"What because I rescued you? Rachel that-"

"You did more than rescue me and you know it," she said accusingly. "You're just choosing to not think about it. Who stood by me as I got back to normal? Helping me be stronger just by being there behind me to catch me if I fell? Helping me in ways I still don't think I could recognize? I'm a different person Noah. I'm a better person. And it wasn't because I went through what I did." She stepped forward and put her hand on his cheek. She smiled.

"It's because of you." He felt his heart and resolve weaken as she looked at him like that and to make sure the words he wanted to say didn't blurt out he just kept his mouth shut. Her eyes softened further as she began to speak again.

"And even more than that. This whole thing you're doing? You think you're not good enough for me, even though it's obvious to everyone that you still care about me. But you cared so much, you were willing to let me go. For me to do better." She looked down and her hand slipped to his shoulder.

"But you see the thing is Noah, I can't do better."

"That's not true," he muttered.

"I can't do better than someone who supports me in everything, makes me stronger, makes me better, and would be willing to let me go if it would be better for me?" she questioned looking back up at him.

Noah was struck dumb. She thought that highly of him? Of _him? _

"I'm not-"

"Don't automatically say that," she almost spat. "Think Noah. Think. What have you done over these last few months?" She saw a light spark in his eyes.

She _was_ different. The solos with Kurt, Tina. Even her bossiness. Her grating attitude. They had all been toned down. And over the last few days, he had never seen her more confident, even from before the hockey team incident. But the only thing that had been different for all of this from before was…

_Me…_ his brain said. His heart leaped as he looked down at her.

"Can you really say you aren't that good? Or that person?" she asked.

"No," he whispered, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Hers flew across her face, huge and bright.

"So what will you do now?" she asked him.

"I can think of one thing," he said before capturing her mouth with his. Her hands linked behind his neck as she held him to her, almost afraid he would pull away and take everything back. But his arms came around her waist, firm yet loose at the same time, and she knew he had come back to her. He pulled away as he felt her begin to cry.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered as he brushed away the tears.

"You're back, that's all that matters," she said with a smile. He smiled back.

"How did you know what I needed to hear?" he asked while linking his hand with hers.

"I had a little help," she said. "I'll explain later." She squeezed his hand before reaching up with her other and pulling him into another kiss. The same thought went through both their heads.

_I love you._

Though this was nothing new to Rachel, Noah felt almost a stab of panic.

Love?

But as they broke apart and she smiled up at him with that perfect look in her eyes, the echoes of what she had told him still singing in his head, he smiled.

_Yeah… Love._

* * *

Before I touch on the subject of Finn, I want to just discuss real quick how I decided to develop Matt's character. I think Matt was a character in the show that had a great amount of potential. Both him and Mike. In that school, despite having been a part of football for much longer than Glee, they chose Glee. There's a lot to look into there. I'm not sure but I think Mike's character has been developed in later seasons of Glee that I haven't and have no interest in watching. But Matt was completely written out of the show. I'm sure for actor and network reasons, but I was disappointed that the character didn't have a chance to develop. So, since I am developing him in this chapter, I'm not going to be following cannon with him moving away after season 1. Most other questions should be answered in following chapters, but if someone brings one up that isn't in the chapters, I'll address it in a footnote at some point.

Now, Finn. Between two reviews the things brought up were the drama he caused when there already is enough drama for Puck and Rachel and what they've dealt with, the power he was given to hurt people, and that anything he could say would affect Noah. I think I've addressed the final concern in this chapter. It wasn't that Finn said it, it's the fact it was said that caused Noah to fall back into bad mental habits.

The power Finn has to hurt people, I would more characterize as his evolution as a character. He does have power. He's the school's QB. He's the male lead in Glee. He's a leader. He's looked up to. At least for awhile. He _does_ have power. But I would also bring up that Finn is dense, to put it nicely. Combine that with the connection he has with Rachel and his selfishness and Finn would not be able to look at Rachel and Puck together, especially after what happened with Quinn, and say 'they're better together and I was an ass in the first place' right away. He needs something to basically smash him over the head with the truth. If this isn't how you personally see the character, that's more than fine. I have a more negative viewpoint of Finn. But this is how I see him, and how I address him in this fic.

Finally, the drama. I don't have an exact answer to this. I can definitely see this point of view and I don't think anything I would say would take that view point away as people read this fic. What I will say is that the road to normalcy is a long and hard one. I do not speak from experience by any means when it comes to being sexually assaulted. Dealing with divorced parents, I can speak from experience, though my father did not leave as Puck's did. It really truly messes with your head and yes, Puck and Rachel do not deserve this after everything, but your subconscious and how certain things in your life have left their mark on your habits don't care about that. I dislike sharing personal stories on the internet so I'll just leave it at, if you think that Puck is overreacting about not being worth anything or being any good, I can promise you it's a real reaction. I have never gotten as far as him but in high school, when you're still growing up and your hormones are still working in overdrive, bad divorces can leave their mark.

I hope this helps as an insight into my mindset and also helps you understand the story and characters a little more. I will see you next time!


	46. Chapter 45

I had originally wanted to put all of this little side arc into one chapter and then move on with the canon story line but it's just getting too long so I separated it. Plus the rest of it is only sketched out and I wanted to upload a new chapter. I really enjoyed delving into these characters' heads once again for more of a deeper subject and I hope you guys enjoy it!

* * *

"You're saying Rutherford was the one who helped you with what to say?" said Noah in disbelief.

"Why is it that big of a surprise?" asked Rachel confused.

"Well it's Rutherford," said Noah. "It's not him. He doesn't do that deep emotional stuff. Or anything like that."

"Well I think a lot of what he had to say was more a self-reflection he applied to you than just a different take or something simpler like that."

"Now you've completely lost me," replied Noah. Rachel bit her lip.

"His parents are divorced…" she said. "You didn't know?" Noah looked at her in disbelief.

"No way," he said. "He can be quiet but no way he would go all this time without saying anything. Even something off hand."

"He said he wasn't as young as you when it happened. That's all he said…" she replied, looking a little worried. "He didn't appear to be completely comfortable telling me what he thought you were feeling."

Noah looked away as he sighed before running a hand through his Mohawk.

"Well if it was anything like the way my dad left it's no wonder he doesn't want to talk about it. Or think about it."

"Well we should-"

"Do nothing," he interrupted. "That is what you and I but especially _you_ will do."

"Noah," chided Rachel. "He's your friend and he helped us out tremendously at a cost to his own psyche. We need to help him."

"Look Rachel," said Noah. "I know you have this great big sunny world view, that I have no idea how you keep in this stupid town, but talking and singing about your feelings doesn't make everything better."

It was almost hilarious how shocked and affronted she looked at the thought.

"Just trust me Rach. Now can we drop it? I don't want to talk about this anymore. I thought you'd want to do other things after we got back together."

Rachel's face went dark red and she stammered as Noah rolled his eyes and just walked over to the sofa.

"You hid a copy of Beauty and the Beast in my couch Rachel. My couch. You think I didn't know it was here all the time so you could watch it whenever you wanted?" Rachel began the process of sorting out her nerves and other thoughts she hadn't expected to fly through her brain. She banished those, not even dwelling on them for a moment. Not now. Not here.

"That's what you meant," she said. He rolled his eyes again.

"My sister's awake babe, damn." As her blush deepened again, she just strode forward, plucked the movie out of his hands and busied herself by his TV. She relaxed as she heard him chuckle to himself behind her and throw himself onto the couch.

"How did you even find this?" she asked as she turned around, her face now a more normal color. He raised an eyebrow.

"We do clean you know," he informed her as he stretched out on the couch. "And besides, someone at some point is going to not feel comfortable and look for a reason why. I didn't expect this but whatever." She twisted a finger worriedly with her other hand as she bit her lip, embarrassed at the question.

_That's so fucking cute,_ he thought as he reached out and just pulled her onto the couch.

"Geez, relax Rach."

"Well you still weren't talking to me an hour ago," she replied. "It's a little bit of a shock to already be back to where we were." Noah sat up, locking his eyes with her.

"This is where I've wanted to be for almost a week now."

"On your couch?" she asked confused. He rolled his eyes and smirked.

"And here I thought you were the expert on all things cheesy. With you Rach. Just doing stuff like this."

"Oh," she said, inhaling a little as she felt swamped with emotion. Her heart melted a little as she just looked back at him for a moment. She leaned forward and kissed him.

"Especially stuff like that," he said, his smirk widening.

"Now you've ruined it," she laughed, playfully smacking his shoulder. He just wrapped an arm around her waist and laid back down on the couch, pulling her with him so she lay against him.

"Don't know what else you expected babe." She smiled and as she felt his comforting warmth behind her, she felt home again. But knowing what Noah needed after all the emotion he had dealt with, what she had to voice was not those emotions.

"Hush, the movie's starting." He laughed hard behind her and she smiled as well, glad she had come to know him enough to know what would help. And when he pressed the smallest kiss to the top of her head, she knew that despite everything she had thought was the right thing, how she felt, how much she cared (loved) him, she had said exactly what he had needed to hear.

* * *

As Rachel slept in the bed next to him, Noah stared up at the ceiling. It was unbelievable to him that she was there now. Again. She had been the one to come back, despite everything that should have been telling her to stay away. And with their little conversation before Beauty and the Beast, he knew that, thanks to Matt, she had come to understand him even more. It was amazing to him that he had someone like that. Someone who could understand what he needed and cared enough to think about what he needed to hear. And Rutherford, of all people, was the reason. He allowed his thoughts to drift to Matt. He hadn't expected that. Not in a million years. With the circumstances of his own father leaving, in a town as small as Lima, everyone had known about it. And since everyone knew about it, so did their kids. None of the details of course, but everyone knew his dad had left. It had only taken one wrongly made joke for the other kids to realize his father was a taboo subject. The kid who had made the joke, still avoided him to this day.

Nothing like that had happened with Matt. But nobody had ever heard about it. Not even on the lowest rungs of gossip had it ever been heard. But still Matt didn't say one word about it. Not one. And even for someone who was a little quiet as he was, there was something there, either before or during the split that he did not want to think about. Noah's eyes drifted over to Rachel and the more serious thoughts vanished. He turned over, placing his arm across her waist. All that mattered in that moment was that he had her back.

* * *

The next morning, they chatted as if nothing had ever happened and they walked into school side by side. Puck looked around even as Rachel continued to talk, knowing that they would have to deal with all of the Glee club coming up to them to find out if it was really true and the congratulations and all of that shit. And as much as it annoyed him, it was also a little cool they all had come to like him that much. Him and Rachel at least.

"Well it's about time," came an annoyed voice as Kurt walked up to them, huffy. "I thought I was going to start going grey from the stress." Rachel laughed and Puck just shook his head.

"It took you long enough," Kurt said to Puck. "I swear I never know what goes through boys' heads." Faced with that, Puck couldn't quite say anything and in the next moment, Kurt had said goodbye and scooted off. Rachel just laughed.

"He's in a good mood," she commented.

"You can tell?" he asked, sarcastically and a little incredulous at the ball of energy Kurt had been. Rachel just laughed again. One by one, all of their friends realized they had gotten back together and were greeted from a simple thumb's up from Nate to girl squealing from Brittany. Puck wasn't a big fan of that one since Rachel and Brittany went off on a thousand-word-per-minute conversation that he had trouble following. Santana stood to the side, smiling in spite of herself as Brittany and Rachel gushed. Her eyes caught Puck's for a moment and he was a little surprised to see genuine happiness for him in them. Though since she and Brittany had started dating, a little of that over the top hard edge had started to fall off.

As Brittany and Santana walked off, an astonished pair of eyes locked onto them. Finn looked incredulous from Puck to Rachel. It didn't make sense. The image of Puck defeated in his doorway rose in his mind. How could this have happened in just a few days?

"You're back together?" he demanded as rushed over to them. Puck's face went blank.

"Yes we are," replied Rachel with a smile. Finn exhaled and nodded, smiling at her.

"Good. That's good," he said. But he had felt his heart twist a little. He still had a thing for Rachel. He knew a part of him had hoped that she would move on from Puck to him. He didn't like that part of himself, because he did see how much Puck cared for her. But it didn't mean it wasn't there.

An awkward, silent moment later, he walked off. Puck watched him go, making sure he had turned a corner before turning his attention back to Rachel. He wasn't stupid. He knew what was going through Finn's head. It pissed him off.

But instead of dwelling on that, he was just happy the only person that hadn't approached yet was Matt. And he probably already knew what the outcome was going to be, so they were done with all the attention. Puck wasn't surprised to see Matt just looking at them with a smile as Rachel chattered away as she got her books out of her locker. He walked away without saying anything to either of them. But that was Matt too. He knew Puck had seen him offering the silent support. He wouldn't say anything about it. Puck sighed.

Honestly, he was a little worried about Matt. There was no question in his mind that Matt had never talked about his parents to anyone. He knew the feeling all too well. Ignoring everything for years and years and years. Feeling the memories sneak back at certain times in the year. He had never caught those signs from Matt, though he had always been quiet. He wouldn't have noticed if Matt had been quieter than normal. When it came to himself, anger was how he always dealt with those memories. Matt just got quieter. Puck's eyes closed for a moment. He hoped it was because Matt was naturally quiet. He dreaded the alternative.

Because now that Matt had let anything out about his parents, Puck knew the rest wouldn't be too far behind, in a whirlwind of actions and emotions none of them would be used to seeing from Matt. He had seen it in himself when Rachel wouldn't allow him to suffer anymore.

Before he let himself get too distracted, he pulled himself out of his thoughts and refocused on Rachel. A smile tugged at his lips. It would have surprised him how glad he was that she was back at his side only a few months ago. He had Matt to thank for that. It wouldn't be a debt easily repaid. But it was one he would gladly repay over and over just to have her looking up at him the way she did again.

As they walked down the hall, he slid his hand into hers and feeling the comfort of her hand, and her constant unspoken support of him, press against him, he never knew how he had left in the first place.

* * *

With how the days had dragged as he kept himself away from Rachel, Puck was still surprised at how fast the day went with her at his side. Before he had known it, even Glee rehearsal was over. He stretched before grabbing his and Rachel's bags.

"Thank you Noah," she said with a smile.

"Seriously, it is so good to see you back together," said Mike sincerely. Finn shifted awkwardly in the back of the room.

"How did you get back together anyway?" asked Tina, curious.

"Matt helped me out with where Noah's head was. I knew what he needed to hear after that," said Rachel with a smile. All heads turned to Matt, who looked very uncomfortable with the attention.

"I just offered my thoughts," he said, shrugging.

"Well it was very brave of you since I'm sure it brought up bad memories of your own parents' split," said Rachel. Puck groaned exasperatedly. Everyone's surprised eyes immediately sprang back to Matt. He looked a little startled as his eyes darted around all the people in the room before looking at his shoes.

"I don't want to talk about it," he mumbled.

"But-" started Rachel but Noah interrupted her.

"No," he said. "Let it go. You said enough." Rachel let out a big breath before shifting her weight slightly and didn't say anything.

"Well," said Kurt, trying to dissolve the tension. "Many kudos to you Matt for getting them back together."

"Definitely," said Mike, his eyes on his friend. Matt, however, didn't move or respond.

"I'm headed home," said Nate pointedly. "Rehearsal is over." The others agreed and began to leave, Noah having to coax Rachel out of the room. Mike and Mercedes lingered slightly, looking at Matt concernedly and even Santana paused at the doorway to look back, but his gaze never wavered from the floor. As the three turned their backs, Matt's eyes flicked up immediately to watch them leave. He didn't want pity. But that hadn't been what he was faced with. It was concern. Concern meant questions. Questions meant memories he hated to dwell on. So in the end, he didn't want their concern either. He kicked at a chair angrily before freezing. Some emotion flashed across his face too quickly to tell what it was. He closed his eyes and muttered something to himself under his breath a few times, an action he had clearly done before. He opened his eyes, clenched and unclenched his fists, and walked out of the room. Mike and Mercedes emerged from behind a corner out in the hallway as he walked off, his back to them. They exchanged worried glances but let him leave, saying nothing.

They walked out of school together in silence.

"Did you know?" asked Mercedes suddenly.

"Yes," said Mike. "But not because he told me. We've been friends for years. I've been to his house. I made my own conclusion and since he didn't want to talk about it, I didn't bring it up." Mercedes was silent for a moment.

"Rachel won't let this be. She's going to try and help him," she said.

"What she thinks is helping him," he replied.

"What do we do?" Mike sighed as they stopped in the parking lot.

"I don't know," he said after a moment. Mercedes sighed.

"I don't like seeing him like this."

"You and me both," replied Mike. They exchanged one last look before going their separate ways, both determined to try and cheer Matt up the next day.

* * *

I hope you guys enjoyed it. More insight into Matt, some touching on how Rachel is doing with the original plot point of this fanfic, and a growing relationship I'm sure at least one person will start to ship. Within this fic I should say haha. Until next time.


	47. Chapter 46

Yes long break. I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to write this chapter properly. I thought about it a lot and couldn't get anything. So I stopped thinking about it. Wasn't long until I had the way to go and it turned out even better than I could have hoped for. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Mercedes walked through the parking lot distracted. She had spent the whole night trying to figure out the best way to help Matt deal with the sudden revelation of his parent's split. But everything she had come up with to do, she knew would make Matt more uncomfortable or even upset. So she had nothing to do. She looked up and saw Mike across the parking lot. When their eyes met, they both realized neither had come up with anything that would work. And somehow that relieved them. Taking the day as normal as if nothing had happened yesterday would work. In fact, it was the best thing they could do, it had just been overlooked. They smiled and headed off.

Matt had almost not come to school. He didn't want the attention. But he knew not showing up would make it worse. So as uncomfortable and reluctant as he was, he walked through the doors of McKinley. It wasn't long before Mike walked up and immediately began telling him about a new dance move he had thought of and before long they were immersed in a discussion of new ideas inspired by the previous one spoken.

And after his first class, as usual, Mercedes appeared to walk him through the gossip for the day. He laughed, as he always did at the sass she conveyed the 'news' with. As she walked off, he knew what they had done and he felt immensely grateful. They knew him that well to know what he wanted. Just another day. He had seen the concern in both of their eyes when they had thought he wasn't looking, but he overlooked that. If they were ignoring it, he certainly was. And as uncomfortable as the concerned borderline stares he got from some of the other members of Glee were, Mercedes and Mike were enough for him to know he'd make it through the day.

He wasn't that surprised when Rachel approached him at his locker, looking slightly upset a little ways into the day. She immediately spoke her worries.

"Matt, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to let everyone know. I thought Noah just assumed that you hadn't told anyone and that others knew. I-"

"Rachel, don't worry about it," sighed Matt. "It's you guys. I don't really care that you know." Though he was slightly surprised that he was telling the truth about that, he continued.

"I just never wanted anyone to push me to talk about it. And I think everyone realized that with my reaction."

"Are you sure you don't-"

"Yes," he bit off before walking away. Rachel was startled to have seen the flash of anger in his eyes. She watched him, concerned again, as he walked off.

"Rachel please, please, just leave it alone," said Noah as she came to talk to him.

"Noah, I don't understand how you can be so callous when he's obviously upset about his-"

"Babe, just stop," he said cutting her off. "Of course he's upset. Of course he's angry. That's always going to hurt, make you angry, and talking can only make it worse."

"It helped you," she retorted.

"I was feeling guilty about him leaving," he said shortly. "It's different. I'm still angry about it. It still upsets me it even happened. And I don't expect you to understand. Your parents are still together." He sighed as he saw anger and a little bit of hurt flood into her eyes and hurried to keep speaking.

"Rach, I didn't mean that to insult you, but I promise you, if you really want to help him, you need to let it go. There's a reason I only really get angry and upset on the anniversary. It's because I'm forced to think about it. I block it the rest of the time. Those are memories nobody should be dwelling on. It leads down a bad road. And you can say it's not healthy to keep those things bottled up or whatever all you want, in his case that's what he needs to do to keep it together. It's how he's dealt with it and he doesn't know any other way." Rachel paused before looking down.

"I've messed this all up haven't I?" she asked.

"Relax Rach," he said. "He knows you were only trying to help."

"So I drop it?" she asked looking at him.

"I know it doesn't make sense to you." Rachel just sighed and nodded.

"I'll let it go."

"Good," Noah replied, throwing an arm over her shoulder.

* * *

The whole day, Mercedes' concern grew and grew. She could actually see the tension hovering around Matt like a fog. Even when she and Mike were around. She could tell that Rachel had talked to him again, because he was even more silent than he was earlier in the day. Glee rehearsal was a slightly awkward affair as the others all did their best to ignore what had been revealed the day before. It all went over Mr. Schue's head as he left smiling and telling them they were on the right track. The others filed out fairly quickly after him and Mercedes even went with them for a moment, before acting on her gut and turning around, saying she had forgotten a book. She hesitated at the door to the choir room. He still hadn't left and when she peeked through the window, she saw him standing in the middle of the room, with his eyes closed, just seeming so tired. She was through the door before she even knew what she could say. His eyes opened and landed on her.

"Hey Matt," she said with a half-smile. He didn't say anything.

"You haven't said much today," she said after a pause. He didn't reply but turned his shoulder slightly, trying to give her the hint he didn't want to talk. She had it right the first time around. Why had she gone from being what he needed to the last person he wanted to see on Earth?

"I want to ask you how you're doing, but I know that's a stupid question. I can see…" she trailed off. He simply closed his eyes and silently begged her to leave while trying to control his rising pulse. She knew it was going terribly and she didn't know what to do but the words kept tumbling out of her mouth.

"Mike and I don't know what to do, Matt. He's worried. I'm worried. We want to help you." His control snapped.

"I don't want the concern. I don't want the questions. I don't need the help. Just drop it so I can forget!" he practically yelled as he took an almost threatening step towards her. She stared back at him, shocked at the reaction. He took a deep breath and mumbled something to himself as he stepped away from her. The rest of his brain was kicking his ass. The last thing he had ever wanted was to get to this point and damage a relationship. Especially one so new and one he wanted desperately to keep. But when he opened his eyes, she was still standing there. He thought at first she was still too shocked to move but he caught sight of the worry behind the shock.

"My dad had a temper…" he whispered. He didn't know why he had admitted that to her. He didn't know how the words had even gotten past the block built from years of willful ignorance. He didn't even know if it had been offered as an excuse for his yelling or he had reached the point where he couldn't hold it back any more. The only thing he did know was he was dreading her reaction.

To her everlasting credit, anything Mercedes may have wanted to say stayed unspoken. She had even hidden any emotion she was surely feeling from her eyes. She just put her bag on the floor, stepped forward, and wrapped her arms around him. He looked down at her, unable to even reciprocate the hug. He had known she was strong. He had known she cared. But even so, with the way he had snapped, she shouldn't still be in the room, let alone showing him understanding.

"You are allowed to hug me back you know," she said with her signature sass as she pulled back, shaking her head at him. She picked up her bag and went to leave but stopped at the door and looked over her shoulder.

"Coming?" His feet stumbled towards her before his mind had even started processing what had happened.

As his mind raced, they walked side by side in silence out of the school.

Matt's wasn't the only mind that was racing even after they went their separate ways in the parking lot. Questions sprinted through Mercedes' mind. His dad had a temper? Did that mean he would hit Matt? Would he hit his mom? Did he hit at all? Did he yell? What did Matt mutter to himself? Why did he look so much more upset after he snapped? Was it because he snapped at all? Snapped at her? Because his dad used to snap? Why did he even tell her about his dad when everything he's ever said to this point was that he didn't want to talk about it?

She shook her head as she started her car, trying to clear her head. But as she pushed the questions back, the concern and worry for Matt grew. Was he going to be okay getting home? She bit her lip. She wasn't someone who was used to feeling uncertain. About practically anything. But there was one thing she was absolutely certain about. She pulled out her phone and sent out a mass text before shoving her phone back in her pocket and driving home, most of her mind's wandering settled by her action, as small as it may have been.

* * *

Matt was astonished the next day to find the entire Glee club acting as Mercedes and Mike had the day before. It was if they didn't know about his parents. He frowned. Not completely. He could still see the concern. Something had happened.

No. Someone.

He knew she had done something. For him.

Because she understood. Because she cared.

For him.

He could feel so many different emotions clawing at his gut as he sat through his first class, then walked to his next with her, not even absorbing what she was saying to him. She walked off and he looked at the door frame to his class and his feet turned and walked away. Inside the room, Mike's eyes widened. Matt never skipped. He reached into his pocket and sent off a quick text.

By lunch, word had gotten back to Puck. No one had seen Matt since that second class. They didn't know where he had gone. And they were worried as hell.

Puck wasn't. So he slipped away from Rachel and headed outside. He wasn't surprised when he found Matt out on the bleachers. He wouldn't leave school grounds while class was going on, even if he was skipping. And it was a great place to lose yourself inside your head. He said nothing as he walked up and relaxed against the bleachers a little ways away from his quiet friend. They sat in silence for a long time.

"I'm not going to be able to keep quiet this time am I?" asked Matt. Puck sighed.

"Well if that text Aretha sent out is any indication, you said at least a little something to her. So no. No you're not," he replied. Now Matt sighed.

"I don't want to…"

"Join the club," said Puck. "It's what we get for having people who always have to _do_ something care about us." Matt half-smiled instinctively before the distant look came back. His throat closed slightly and forcibly swallowed the lump that was trying to form there. A long while passed before he spoke again.

"When you told Rachel… did she know what to do?" Puck was quiet himself for a moment. They both knew Matt would never normally ask that question. It was a question that Puck would have trouble answering, just from the subject and the emotions it would bring up from the time Rachel had drawn the truth out of him.

"More than you could ever think," said Puck finally. The lump returned to Matt's throat so his voice was slightly thick as he spoke again.

"Mercedes… she…" Puck's eyebrows raised slightly.

"That text gave you what you needed." After a pause, Matt simply nodded. Puck settled back against the bleachers a little more. He was startled as Matt's fist flew into the bleacher by his side.

"I don't know how to deal with this shit," he said harshly. The silence held for a moment before Matt cursed and muttered something to himself. Puck could catch a few words and he turned his head to look directly at Matt now, a cold realization sitting in his gut. Matt looked away slightly.

"Matt," was all Puck said. It seemed it was all he could say. But there was more than enough said in the silence. He looked away, running a hand over his Mohawk and cursed silently. Matt felt the claws of too many feelings to name in his very heart.

"I can't…" he whispered. Puck slowly stood and began to head back towards school.

"You can." His voice floated back to Matt who just let his head fall into his hands and gave in to the emotion.

* * *

Thanks for reading and being faithful even through the breaks I put you through. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.


	48. Chapter 47

I want to start off by thanking you all (mostly) for being patient with me on this story. I'm not going to sit here and detail what would basically come down to excuses, but this is not my job. I don't get paid to write. I do this for fun. And I have other things I like to do for fun. I realize that you all enjoy this story very much and I really truly do feel really grateful for that. I did publish this on here, but it was almost entirely for my own benefit. Just please realize that different things come up. I hope you do enjoy this chapter. It was a little difficult for me since it did brush my own experiences with divorce which, like Matt, I don't like to relive but I've finally gotten it to where I'm really happy with it. Enjoy!

* * *

A small whirlwind of talk swirled as Matt walked into Glee but cut off abruptly as they caught sight of the look on his face and the small noise Mercedes had made. After Matt had sat down rather off to the side, stilted conversation picked up as eyes darted over to him. People trailed off in the middle of sentences only to realize they had and picked it back up as their eyes flicked back to the person they were talking to. Mercedes and Mike exchanged a long look. Puck deliberately avoided Rachel's eyes and the question in them. In a testament to the situation, Rachel actually dropped the look and launched off on some topic Puck didn't even pay attention to. His own mind was working and had been since he left Matt on the bleachers. He was involved now. Far more involved than he wanted to be, though that was for selfish reasons. Rutherford had been there for him, especially with Rachel over the last few months. Even if that had been the only reason, and it wasn't, he'd have stuck it out. If he was right about what he heard, this had the potential to explode quickly causing maybe permanent damage to friendships. He wouldn't let that happen.

As oblivious as Mr. Schue had been last rehearsal, he didn't miss the tension this time.

"What's up with you guys? You're all off today." The kids shifted and exchanged looks between themselves and tried not to look at Matt.

"Just an off day I think Mr. Schue," said Mike finally. The kids nodded. Mr. Schue frowned.

"Well, let's try it again," he said. "You guys have been doing great lately. Let's try and keep it up." They all did their best to put aside what had happened and work. Once again after rehearsal, Matt hung back. Mike and Mercedes exchanged a look and this time Mike lingered. As the last noises of the kids faded, Mike looked over at his friend. Matt only held his gaze for a moment before he looked away.

"So," said Mike. "Been a rough couple days huh?" Matt just chuckled a little and shook his head. Some of the tension in his shoulders relaxed. They walked out the door together.

"So I'm guessing you told Mercedes something," said Mike as they walked down the hallway. Matt stiffened.

"Sort of," he said.

"Good," replied Mike enthusiastically. "She'll help. She's a good friend." Matt just looked over at his best friend. Mike just smiled.

"You were never going to tell me. Neither of us could deal with it, I don't think. She can. She will. She's good for you." Matt elbowed him and Mike laughed hard.

"Not like that you idiot." Matt elbowed him again.

"Who're you calling an idiot? What else is that supposed to mean?" Mike elbowed him back.

"Good for you with this of course," he replied. They both laughed as they swapped elbows to the ribs once more.

"But seriously," said Mike as they stopped laughing. "You should talk to her."

"It isn't that easy," replied Matt, tension crawling back into him.

"I think when it comes to that moment, it will be," replied Mike. They had reached the parking lot by this point. Mike clapped a hand on Matt's shoulder.

"You'll be okay," he said with a smile before turning and walking off. Matt watched him go for a moment. He relaxed slightly, knowing Mike's tone. He had heard it before. Whenever he spoke like that, he always ended up being right. They had been friends since middle school. Even if Mike hadn't known it, that bundle of energy that he was had helped Matt tremendously after everything that had happened with his parents. The day they had met, Mike had decided they'd be best friends almost immediately and within a few days, it had been so. He had always known just how far to push him, and Matt was a better person for it. Even now, he knew exactly what he had needed to hear. A half smile crossed Matt's face.

_Looks like I'm hanging out with Mercedes tomorrow._

* * *

As he walked into school the next day, he found himself cornered by someone he hadn't expected. Santana.

"Look," she said, as straight forward as she always was. "Whatever we had wasn't much, but I learned enough about you to know this is getting worse." Matt looked a little startled.

"I'm working on it," he said reflexively yet still truthfully. He had been thinking about finding Mercedes before she had surprised him. She studied him for a moment and nodded.

"Good," she said sincerely, offered a smile and was gone. He blinked and stared after her for a time before shaking his head, smiling a half smile and heading off into the crowding corridors.

As Mercedes walked him to his second class, chatting away as always, he argued with himself once again. Did he really have to talk to her? It wasn't that bad. Right? But his mind kept bringing him back to the conversations he had with Mike and Santana.

"Mercedes," he said, finally deciding. He almost winced as he realized he had completely and entirely interrupted her in the middle of whatever story she had been telling. Something flickered in her eyes before she had controlled it.

"What is it Matt?" she asked, confused and a little concerned.

"Sorry," he said grimacing slightly. "I was just wondering if you could spare some time after school. Since we don't have Glee today." Her eyes lit up.

"Of course Matt!" she replied. They had reached his classroom.

"We'll talk about it at lunch. You should have brought it up sooner!" she admonished him before rushing off to her own class. He watched her go and sighed. Maybe he shouldn't… But he turned and was immediately caught in Mike's gaze. He sighed again as the possibility of canceling was pushed from his mind. Puck really had been right. It was what they got for having people care about them that much. But as he settled into his chair, one last thought crossed his mind. Neither of them would change that.

* * *

The next thing Matt knew, school had ended and he was heading to the chorus room to meet Mercedes. The only problem was he still didn't know what to do. He didn't think he could just come out and say it. In fact it was completely out of the question. But what else was there? Once again he considered scrapping this whole idea. What business was it of theirs? He didn't want all this. None of it.

Despite himself, his feet kept taking him towards the chorus room. He stared at the door a long moment before going in. The door had barely closed behind him before Mercedes entered. She offered a tentative smile at him as he turned to her.

"So what's up Matt?" she asked. He just stood there. Now faced with it, he couldn't. He couldn't. The silence grew. But then she smiled again.

"Well how about this? Let's just work on our homework." He nodded gratefully. A smile crossed his face as the first thing Mercedes took out of her bag was a music player with portable speakers.

"You don't mind?" she asked. He shook his head. So they both settled down and started their homework. He didn't get much done. He was trying to figure out what to say. Why had he asked her here if all he was going to do was waste her time? Could he really tell her?

As the next song came on the mix, neither of them paid too much attention to it, her occupied with her homework, him still arguing in his head, until it hit the bridge. Matt stiffened.

"Change the song," he said, his voice as stiff as his body had become. Mercedes looked up slightly, distracted by the problem on her homework.

"What?" she said.

"Change it," he bit off, looking away. Her head snapped up now and she recognized the song as Coldplay's _Fix You._

-_when you lose something you cannot replace. _

_Tears stream_

She had reached over and skipped the song before she realized it. She paused the next song before it could really come on.

"Matt?"

"It's nothing," he said gruffly.

"Matt," she said again. His head fell into his hands as he let out a short frustrated yell. His fingers pressed against his skin as he fought back the unwelcome surge of emotion the song had brought.

"Matt you can't do this anymore," said Mercedes almost scared but overwhelmed by worry. He said nothing and a bite of anger bled through into her concern.

"You think we can't see how it's hurting you?" she demanded. "It hurts us to see you like this. I know you don't want to talk about it but it's hurting you more not to say anything. You need to talk about it. And if you can't to me, I can take you to Mike's."

"What am I supposed to say?" he said angrily. "Spill my guts and deal with your sympathy when you have no idea-" He cut himself and looked away.

"No I don't," she replied. "I don't have any idea. I can't even imagine it. But I do know one thing." She tentatively moved a little closer to him.

"My mind hasn't stopped working since that day when you told me your dad had a temper. I can't stop thinking about what it could mean. I can't stop seeing you as a kid dealing with that. And yes I feel bad for you. Of course I am. I'm your friend. You'll have to deal with that. But more than that, I'm angry for you. I am so unbelievably angry that even after whatever happened, mild or worse, that he's still hurting you now." She clenched her fists.

"I don't want all that," he seethed even as he felt a little touched deep down. "I want to forget. I wanted all of you to let me. Why can't you just do that?"

"Because you're not forgetting anymore," she retorted. "It's getting worse and don't you tell me it's not because I've never seen you like this before. Ever."

"Because you keep bringing it up!" he half yelled. "I don't need your help!" The hurt that flashed in her eyes cut deep at his heart. He cursed violently and looked away. He muttered the words that he had repeated since that day long ago whenever he felt himself losing control, the words he had needed to say more often lately than he ever wanted.

Mercedes' eyes narrowed.

"Oh hell no. Do not tell me you really just said that." He looked back at her and sighed apologetically.

"Mercedes, you have helped and I appreciate-"

"Not that," she almost snarled at him, trembling slightly in anger. "You really did not just say 'just because I have his temper doesn't mean I'm him. I have control'. Did you?" His eyes went wide. Had he said it that loud?

"Oh you idiot," she said throwing up her hands in aggravation. He didn't know how to respond. Of all the reactions he had ever thought he might get from being overheard, this was not one of them. She jabbed her finger at him as she continued speaking.

"You listen to me right now. Of course losing your temper isn't going to make you him. You don't have to have control of your temper all the time. No one does. Nobody. Who cares if you have a short temper sometimes? You are Matt. You're a great dancer. You're a nice guy. You're quiet and this whole thing with your dad's temper probably sent more along the quiet lines than you would have been. You care about people. I mean for christ's sake you chose us over football in this school and town of all places because it's what you wanted to do. I may not know your dad, but if you think you're like him just because you can lose your temper, you're a moron and I should kick you for it."

Through this speech, Matt's mouth slowly came open. Silence rang as she finished and he just stared at her. Finally, he reacted.

He laughed.

The startled look that appeared on Mercedes' face made it worse and soon tears were rolling down his face as he clutched at his stomach, unable to stop laughing. Mercedes looked at him like he had lost a few marbles, though there was concern in the look as well. He leaned back against the wall as the laughter began to subside. He shook his head as he wiped away the tears.

"Mike was right. You did help." A smile spread across her face. He looked at her, his eyes growing more and more serious.

"I know you're right. And it's something I needed to hear. But it's not going to be that simple." She shrugged.

"So I'll need to kick you a few times until you get it." A smile flashed across his face. His eyes began to look distant.

"It's going to take more than a few."

"What happened Matt?" she asked softly. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment.

"My dad did have a temper. Lots of yelling. Lots of cursing. That went back a long way. Even to before I can remember. I still get more uncomfortable when I should when I hear people fighting like that." His eyes opened. Hers were fixed on him, completely attentive with the concern shining there as well.

"He'd use his fists too." He saw her stiffen and quickly shook his head. "Never on me." As she relaxed, he continued.

"The walls would get it. Or vases, bowls, that sort of thing. He'd repair the walls, replace the stuff he'd broken, but he never repaired the hole he put in the garage wall by his work bench. He'd point it out to me and say 'that's what happens when I get angry Matt.' Almost like a warning to keep out of trouble, though he always said it with a laugh." He was quiet for a long moment. Mercedes couldn't have spoken even if she wanted to. All of this? All of this and he was still the person he was? In spite of it or because of it? She wanted to do something but he spoke again.

"It began to get worse around the end of elementary school into middle. A lot worse. He'd leave for days at a time. I'd get woken up in the middle of the night. One time I got up to try and stop it. Or something. I don't know. But I didn't recognize my dad anymore." His hand twitched and curled into a fist for a moment before relaxing.

"He realized at the last moment what he was going to do and stopped. He stared at me for a long time before walking out of the house. He was gone almost a week that time. I've never heard silence like that before… Like my house was that night…" He continued on from this fairly quickly, both of them recognized that he had avoided really saying what had happened that night. Neither of them said anything about it. They couldn't bear to, for different reasons.

"The next day, my mom made me swear never to get out of bed again when it would happen." He paused. "I don't know if I should regret making that promise or not…" Mercedes flinched slightly.

"He didn't hit you…" she started carefully. "But…" There was a long pause.

"What about your mom?" she asked softly. His head snapped away as he flinched. The silence built and built.

"I don't know…" he said so softly she could barely hear it. "She won't talk about it. She won't say yes or no."

"Oh Matt…" whispered Mercedes, heartbroken for him. He felt a spurt of anger at the sympathy and grit his teeth.

"You know the rest," he almost bit off. "Normal divorce shit. Anger issues followed by daddy issues." Her own temper flared.

"I am allowed to feel sorry for you," she told him, anger just being held under by patience in her tone.

"I told you I don't want your sympathy," he replied flashing a quick glare at her.

"Well excuse me for caring," she shot back. "I don't know what the hell you expected for me to do after hearing all this. Pat you on the head say 'There, there. Now get over it.'? I am your friend dammit." He pushed to his feet angrily and she followed.

"If this is just how you're dealing with telling me everything, fine, be that way. Take it out on me all you want. But if this is back to trying to control your anger all the time, I really will kick your ass. You really think that's helping you? You would've ended up pushing everyone away and ended up exactly what you wanted not to be. You'll end up just like him." He visibly flinched away, his eyes going wide as the shock, and surprisingly hurt pushed away the anger. She reached out for him, already trying to apologize, knowing she had gone too far.

"Matt, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have… I got-"

"No," he said shaking his head and steadying himself. "No, I… I needed to hear it." She looked at him a little disbelievingly and still absolutely apologetic. He just shook his head.

"You've said it all Mercedes. It wasn't getting better. Trying to… well, I was just making myself angrier. And I was going to end up like…" His voice almost broke and he looked away, deliberating swallowing, trying to suppress the emotion. Mercedes looked even more uncomfortable that she had said it at all.

"Thank you Mercedes," he said finally. "For listening."

"I am sorry Matt," she said, taking a tentative step forward.

"I know," he said. "It's okay." After a short awkward silence, he tried to start some small talk and Mercedes gratefully took the offer and before long they were chatting like nothing had happened.

"I'm glad everything's okay now," she said to him with a smile as they separated in the parking lot later. He smiled back and waved as she ran off. But as he headed home, a part of him that had gone cold earlier wasn't sure it really was.


End file.
